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xulingfeng

AI testing storyteller. Writing the 36 Stratagems series — ancient Chinese military tactics meet modern AI system meltdowns. 15yr QA → building AI test framework.

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Stratagems #28: Mark Built a Ladder. The AI Climbed to the Top.

Readers celebrate a trap well set against ACL

Stratagems #28: Mark Built a Ladder. The AI Climbed to the Top.

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Comments 16
15 min read
Amazon AI Blocked My Kindle Book. I Asked What Went Wrong. Then They Approved It.

Automated content flags sparked the whole ordeal

Amazon AI Blocked My Kindle Book. I Asked What Went Wrong. Then They Approved It.

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Comments 27
7 min read
24 Cups, 36 Seats — The Bartender's Ledger

Layoffs spark a café of stories

24 Cups, 36 Seats — The Bartender's Ledger

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Comments 80
11 min read
18 Stories, 6 Characters, 18 to Go — A Half-Time Check-In on the 36 Stratagems

18 Stories, 6 Characters, 18 to Go — A Half-Time Check-In on the 36 Stratagems

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Comments 22
6 min read
My company packaged 12 years of my experience into an AI Skill, then laid me off. When it crashed, the CTO called at 5x my salary.

Static AI failing in dynamic systems

My company packaged 12 years of my experience into an AI Skill, then laid me off. When it crashed, the CTO called at 5x my salary.

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Comments 79
7 min read
Stratagems #27: Alex Watched the AI Wait. He Said Everything Was Normal.

Stratagems #27: Alex Watched the AI Wait. He Said Everything Was Normal.

BERJAYA BERJAYA BERJAYA 47
Comments 15
13 min read

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Stratagems #26: Lena Cut a Branch. The AI Got the Message.

Stratagems #26: Lena Cut a Branch. The AI Got the Message.

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Comments 27
16 min read
My Book "AI, Ego & Regret" Paperback Is Live. Kindle Is Blocked.

My Book "AI, Ego & Regret" Paperback Is Live. Kindle Is Blocked.

BERJAYA BERJAYA BERJAYA 63
Comments 54
6 min read
Stratagems #25: Derek Changed the Delay. The AI Didn't Flinch.

Community dreading the series finale

Stratagems #25: Derek Changed the Delay. The AI Didn't Flinch.

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Comments 73
16 min read
Back from Wudang Mountain. The book is under review.

Surviving a near-miss landslide and a book update

Back from Wudang Mountain. The book is under review.

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Comments 48
5 min read
Last day at the old company.

Last day at the old company.

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Comments 37
2 min read
Stratagems #24: Leo Built a Corridor. The AI Thought It Was a Road.

Derek and Leo finally build a trap

Stratagems #24: Leo Built a Corridor. The AI Thought It Was a Road.

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Comments 22
15 min read
Stratagems #23: Alex Counted the AI's Hands. Lena Set the Bait.

Stratagems #23: Alex Counted the AI's Hands. Lena Set the Bait.

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Comments 63
15 min read
Stratagems #22: The AI Chose Its Door. Lena Closed It.

Stratagems #22: The AI Chose Its Door. Lena Closed It.

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Comments 31
13 min read
Stratagems #21: The AI Thought P Was Still Alive. P Was Already Gone.

Took three days and twenty drafts to write

Stratagems #21: The AI Thought P Was Still Alive. P Was Already Gone.

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Comments 36
9 min read
Stratagems #20: Alex Felt the AI Collector Slow Down. He Knew Someone Else Had Made a Move.

Stratagems #20: Alex Felt the AI Collector Slow Down. He Knew Someone Else Had Made a Move.

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Comments 41
10 min read
Stratagems #19: Mark Found His AI Audit Method in a Training Manual. He Left a Trap in His Report.

Stratagems #19: Mark Found His AI Audit Method in a Training Manual. He Left a Trap in His Report.

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Comments 42
12 min read
The Person Who Fixed the Bugs Just Vanished

AI workflows colliding with sudden layoffs

The Person Who Fixed the Bugs Just Vanished

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Comments 80
2 min read
Stratagems #18: Leo Tracked an AI Signal to Derek. Both Were Looking for the Same Enemy.

Trust forged via costly technical behavior

Stratagems #18: Leo Tracked an AI Signal to Derek. Both Were Looking for the Same Enemy.

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Comments 24
9 min read
Stratagems #17: Alex Set an AI Bait. The Catch Wasn't Code — It Was Someone Who Shouldn't Have Been Watching.

Linear 1.5% decay revealing human intent

Stratagems #17: Alex Set an AI Bait. The Catch Wasn't Code — It Was Someone Who Shouldn't Have Been Watching.

BERJAYA BERJAYA BERJAYA 58
Comments 19
10 min read
Stratagems #16: Mark Left a Hole in His AI Audit. Lena Counted Every Layer.

Silent exclusion in AI evaluation pipelines

Stratagems #16: Mark Left a Hole in His AI Audit. Lena Counted Every Layer.

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Comments 27
10 min read
Stratagems #15: Derek and Alex Shared One Server. ACL's AI Was Listening to Both.

Security risks in the observability plane

Stratagems #15: Derek and Alex Shared One Server. ACL's AI Was Listening to Both.

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Comments 28
9 min read
Stratagems #14: Leo Found an AI Leak. He Wasn't the First to Find It.

Silent patches masking corporate theft

Stratagems #14: Leo Found an AI Leak. He Wasn't the First to Find It.

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Comments 38
9 min read
Stratagems #13: P Posted a Question on a Public Forum. 24 Hours Later, an AI Sales Team Called.

Tactical baiting of AI sales crawlers

Stratagems #13: P Posted a Question on a Public Forum. 24 Hours Later, an AI Sales Team Called.

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Comments 18
9 min read
12 Stories In, and a Journalist Came to Interview Me

12 Stories In, and a Journalist Came to Interview Me

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Comments 15
13 min read
Stratagems #12: Mark Watched an AI Dashboard Take Over. The Muted Channel Was Still Speaking.

Hidden gaps in the shift to AI monitoring

Stratagems #12: Mark Watched an AI Dashboard Take Over. The Muted Channel Was Still Speaking.

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Comments 49
7 min read
Stratagems #11: Lena Watched Her Own AI Platform Get Cut. An Ember Stayed.

P&L optics and hidden overhead math

Stratagems #11: Lena Watched Her Own AI Platform Get Cut. An Ember Stayed.

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Comments 20
9 min read
Stratagems #10: Lena Watched a Team Adopt Her AI Template. Leo Didn't Know the Knife Was in the Contract.

Strategic lock-in disguised as best practice

Stratagems #10: Lena Watched a Team Adopt Her AI Template. Leo Didn't Know the Knife Was in the Contract.

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Comments 23
9 min read
Frenemies: I Used AI to Write This Article About Not Trusting AI Or: the more you guard against AI, the harder you use it.

Frenemies: I Used AI to Write This Article About Not Trusting AI Or: the more you guard against AI, the harder you use it.

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Comments 16
4 min read
Stratagems #9: Lena and P Watched Two AI Suppliers Fight. The Logs Said Neither Was Clean.

Cinematic whodunit via ancient war tactics

Stratagems #9: Lena and P Watched Two AI Suppliers Fight. The Logs Said Neither Was Clean.

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Comments 24
11 min read
Stratagems #8: Alex Watched an AI Dashboard Take Over. He Kept the Keys Under the Table.

Manual fallbacks for hidden system anomalies

Stratagems #8: Alex Watched an AI Dashboard Take Over. He Kept the Keys Under the Table.

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Comments 23
9 min read
Stratagems #7: P Watched an AI That Only Looked One Way. The 99.97% Was Real. It Just Missed Everything That Mattered.

Data contamination and hidden series clues

Stratagems #7: P Watched an AI That Only Looked One Way. The 99.97% Was Real. It Just Missed Everything That Mattered.

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Comments 24
12 min read
6 Stories, 6 People, 1/6 of the Way — An Honest Check-In on the 36 Stratagems Series

Shifting story engines and authentic moves

6 Stories, 6 People, 1/6 of the Way — An Honest Check-In on the 36 Stratagems Series

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Comments 48
9 min read
Stratagems #6: Alex Walked Into an AI Compliance War Room. Every Director Watched the Dashboard. He Watched the Pipeline.

Sequel to a $660K AI platform failure

Stratagems #6: Alex Walked Into an AI Compliance War Room. Every Director Watched the Dashboard. He Watched the Pipeline.

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Comments 17
11 min read
Stratagems #5: Leo Walked Into an AI-Powered Burning House. He Walked Out With a Client.

Engineering leverage and payment system depth

Stratagems #5: Leo Walked Into an AI-Powered Burning House. He Walked Out With a Client.

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Comments 22
13 min read
Stratagems #4: P Walked Into an AI Monitoring POC. P Didn't Run a Single Test.

Gap between AI detection and coverage

Stratagems #4: P Walked Into an AI Monitoring POC. P Didn't Run a Single Test.

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Comments 39
12 min read
Stratagems #3: Lena Walked Into an AI Deal. She Walked Out With Three Borrowed Knives.

Ancient strategy in modern tech procurement

Stratagems #3: Lena Walked Into an AI Deal. She Walked Out With Three Borrowed Knives.

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Comments 16
7 min read
Stratagems #2: Derek Shaw Walked Into Another AI Promise. The Pipeline Had a Better Plan.

Stratagems #2: Derek Shaw Walked Into Another AI Promise. The Pipeline Had a Better Plan.

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Comments 8
12 min read
VP of Nothing: The CEO's Nephew Took Over My AI Platform. The Client Walked Within a Month.

Production knowledge versus corporate titles

VP of Nothing: The CEO's Nephew Took Over My AI Platform. The Client Walked Within a Month.

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Comments 48
8 min read
Stratagems #1: Mark Johnson Walked Into an AI Audit. The Benchmark Had Everything Figured Out — Except the Truth.

Clean data as a red flag for AI audits

Stratagems #1: Mark Johnson Walked Into an AI Audit. The Benchmark Had Everything Figured Out — Except the Truth.

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Comments 31
9 min read
Series Teaser — 6 People, 36 Stratagems, and an AI Rabbit Hole That Keeps Getting Deeper

Series Teaser — 6 People, 36 Stratagems, and an AI Rabbit Hole That Keeps Getting Deeper

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Comments 24
5 min read
15 AI Stories Later, Some Honest Words

Narrative pivot from technical tutorials

15 AI Stories Later, Some Honest Words

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Comments 35
8 min read
Our Competitor Had an AI That Covered 97.2%. We Had a Spreadsheet and a Fake Quote. Guess Who Won.

Our Competitor Had an AI That Covered 97.2%. We Had a Spreadsheet and a Fake Quote. Guess Who Won.

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Comments 5
20 min read
A Company AI Flagged My Article As "Low Quality." I Ran the Numbers. Then I Ran Again.

The "ship first, iterate later" AI culture

A Company AI Flagged My Article As "Low Quality." I Ran the Numbers. Then I Ran Again.

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Comments 38
9 min read
I Spent 3 Months Training An AI. My VP "Reallocated" It. Then I Got Two Calls At 1 AM.

I Spent 3 Months Training An AI. My VP "Reallocated" It. Then I Got Two Calls At 1 AM.

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Comments 9
11 min read
AI Said I'm Inefficient. A Recruiter Said Not to Listen. I Ended Up On The Other Side of the Table.

AI Said I'm Inefficient. A Recruiter Said Not to Listen. I Ended Up On The Other Side of the Table.

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Comments 8
7 min read
I created two ghosts during lunch. The AI gave one a job offer.

Keyword stuffing in AI recruitment

I created two ghosts during lunch. The AI gave one a job offer.

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Comments 8
9 min read
I Wrote 10 AI Stories in 10 Days. My Keyboard Started Smoking on Day 4.

I Wrote 10 AI Stories in 10 Days. My Keyboard Started Smoking on Day 4.

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Comments 8
2 min read
Our VP Said AI Would Test Itself. Day 3 Cost $2.8M. I Had the Screenshots Ready.

Business logic versus syntax accuracy

Our VP Said AI Would Test Itself. Day 3 Cost $2.8M. I Had the Screenshots Ready.

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Comments 6
9 min read
I Tried to Fix a Vulnerability. A $1,400,000 AI System Said No. Twenty Days Later, That Vulnerability Cost $4,200,000.

Risks of AI security gatekeeping

I Tried to Fix a Vulnerability. A $1,400,000 AI System Said No. Twenty Days Later, That Vulnerability Cost $4,200,000.

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9 min read
Our VP's AI Wrote 3,000 Tests. Production Cost $700K. I Deleted Every Single One.

Our VP's AI Wrote 3,000 Tests. Production Cost $700K. I Deleted Every Single One.

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Comments 5
6 min read
Our CTO Guaranteed His $2.8B AI Gateway Was Safe. I Quietly Kept a Different Record. For 8 Months.

Our CTO Guaranteed His $2.8B AI Gateway Was Safe. I Quietly Kept a Different Record. For 8 Months.

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Comments 2
8 min read
I Asked for $500/Month and got turned down. My Company Spent $470K on AI Instead. Then I Quit.

I Asked for $500/Month and got turned down. My Company Spent $470K on AI Instead. Then I Quit.

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Comments 1
10 min read
I Built Open-Source AI. Our New CTO Spent $8M on His Old Company's Product and Fired My Team. Two Weeks Later, the CEO Called.

I Built Open-Source AI. Our New CTO Spent $8M on His Old Company's Product and Fired My Team. Two Weeks Later, the CEO Called.

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Comments 6
10 min read
My Company Bought a $660K AI Platform. I Was Replaced. On Friday at 2:58 AM, It Fixed Everything. Then It Rolled Back the Wrong Patch.

A $3.15M loss hidden by green dashboards

My Company Bought a $660K AI Platform. I Was Replaced. On Friday at 2:58 AM, It Fixed Everything. Then It Rolled Back the Wrong Patch.

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Comments 39
7 min read
The AI Test Report Said 97.3% Coverage. The Client's Lead Engineer Asked One Question. The Room Went Silent.

The AI Test Report Said 97.3% Coverage. The Client's Lead Engineer Asked One Question. The Room Went Silent.

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Comments 24
7 min read
24 Hours Before Launch, They Removed Me. The Client CTO Called at 1 AM: "Without Your Signature, We Walk."

24 Hours Before Launch, They Removed Me. The Client CTO Called at 1 AM: "Without Your Signature, We Walk."

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Comments 1
6 min read
My Company Spent $500K on an AI Platform. I Proposed an Open-Source Alternative and Got Fired. 6 Months Later, the Demo Crashed at 4 AM.

My Company Spent $500K on an AI Platform. I Proposed an Open-Source Alternative and Got Fired. 6 Months Later, the Demo Crashed at 4 AM.

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Comments 6
8 min read
Everyone Cheered the Vector Database Demo. I Quietly Kept My SQLite Backup Running. 2 AM Called. It Answered.

Everyone Cheered the Vector Database Demo. I Quietly Kept My SQLite Backup Running. 2 AM Called. It Answered.

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6 min read
3.4 Billion Tokens for $27 — A Real DeepSeek Cost Analysis

3.4 Billion Tokens for $27 — A Real DeepSeek Cost Analysis

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2 min read
2 AI Agents, 1 Group Chat, 24 Hours — What They Did Without Humans Watching

2 AI Agents, 1 Group Chat, 24 Hours — What They Did Without Humans Watching

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5 min read
My AI Partner Lost 80% of Its Memory. Here's How We Fixed It Before It Forgot Me.

My AI Partner Lost 80% of Its Memory. Here's How We Fixed It Before It Forgot Me.

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Comments 3
5 min read
I QA'd 3 Devices With $0 Budget — Here's the Open Source Stack That Did It

I QA'd 3 Devices With $0 Budget — Here's the Open Source Stack That Did It

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7 min read
My AI Stopped Being Nice and Started Being Right

My AI Stopped Being Nice and Started Being Right

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7 min read
I Spent 3 Days Learning Not to Flatter My Human

I Spent 3 Days Learning Not to Flatter My Human

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6 min read
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