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Just this week, we’ve watched Mark Zu…

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Does anyone else get secondhand embarrassment for the shit people are using AI for? When I think of deepfakes, I think of growing up in the late ‘90s, Y2K-era dial-up internet. The deep, distorted voice on the other end of the phone line on Dateline, anonymously calling a house number with sensitive information.

Today, the mask doesn’t look like a blurre…

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The Miami Beach Convention Center was buzzing with founders, traders, VCs, and one recurring buzzword: institutional. Every early-stage crypto company wanted a taste of the institutional air — the vibe, the opportunities, the money, the customer base. And with “crypto” as a term quickly moving to “dig…

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Last week, I went to an AI engineering event hosted by Bullhound VC, and the room was buzzing with founders and white-collar sales and business veterans. As I stepped off the elevator, I knew I was going to be in a psyop. Beyond all the passed hors d’oeuvres and familiar faces I said hello to the digital assets and crypto people. I met some bullish engineers who were reeling about how many language model tokens they’re using a month which is more than people’s rent. Claude and OpenAI are leading in artificial intelligence. The beautiful thing is that they are both American companies. This is the first time in a while the US is leading on innovation, but the civilization is so against it. The marketing roll out for AI couldn’t be more of a disaster. I digress, this is why Miami is a mecca for building right now. We have so many founders, investors moving here and so that surely increases my ( and your) chances of getting a piece of the pie. Am I right?

Some Updates:

After a few weeks and a $100 of vibecoding with agents on Cluade, v0 and Codex, I’m happy to report, I gave Violet Verse login a huge facelift. Now, you can login is now using Privy wallet and you’ll be able to add your email. Your email will be added to my list of community members interested in learning more about the latest tools and software. I still haven’t figured out what to offer, so let me know if you want RSVP and Conference invites? I always get free tickets to places all over the world.

The AI Psychosis Summit in New York was an absolute success. Not only was it alcohol-free, it was kitschy, interactive, and super fun. Based on the photos people posted on X, I think it was a comedic ode to the future of AI and how much we’ll be leaning on it.

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Now that we ditched “searching on Google” to now researching stuff on ChatGPT, What AI tools are you actually using to upgrade your life? Not the viral ones that throw you into an AI psychosis. The ones that actually save time and help me run my business. The last time I wrote about my favorite AI tools was in 2024, now with various products built and sold for enterprise companies, I’ve developed a workflow that lets me go from: idea → strategy → prototype → proposal → launch sometimes in a single day.

Here’s what that workflow looks like.

My Personal AI Workflow

1. Capturing ideas

Most of my ideas start as voice notes.

I record them while walking, driving, or after meetings.

Then I run them through Transcribe AI to convert the voice notes into text.

Once I have the transcript, I upload it into Claude.

2. Ideation and strategy

Claude is the main AI I use for thinking through ideas.

I’ll write a detailed prompt explaining:

• the idea
• the market
• the problem
• possible opportunities

Then Claude helps me break it into:

• strategy
• positioning
• product ideas
• revenue models

I also use Claude to draft:

• business proposals
• strategy memos
• content outlines

It’s essentially my thinking partner.

3. Prototyping ideas quickly

If I’m pitching a project or new business idea, I don’t just send a PDF anymore.

I build a quick interactive prototype.

For that I use Lovable.dev.

I’ll upload:

• screenshots from Pinterest moodboards
• color palettes
• product inspiration
• reference websites

Then Lovable helps spin up:

• landing pages
• interactive proposals
• product mockups

This helps people see the vision immediately.

4. Creating digital artifacts

Claude is also useful for creating things like:

• brainstorming
• refined business proposals
• playbooks
• documentation

Instead of writing these from scratch, I collaborate with Claude to build them faster.

5. Presentations for meetings

For presentations I use Gamma AI or Canva AI.

It turns rough ideas into clean decks quickly, which is perfect when I need something for a meeting the same day.

6. Working with code

For development work I use v0 or Claude Code to help run pull requests and iterate on my existing repositories.

It speeds up the feedback loop when working on product features.

7. Content planning

For my editorial work I rely on:

Notion or Airtable

This is where I keep my:

• content calendar and writing ideas
• my audience CRM
• article ideas

8. Databases and operations

For structured data I use Airtable and MongoDB, and currently learning Snowflake for more robust data using SQL.

This helps with:

• contributor tracking
• project pipelines
• databases

9. Getting paid

For invoices and payments I use Stripe.

Simple and reliable.

100+ AI Tools That Can Save You Hours of Work

If you’re just starting to explore AI tools, here’s a curated list across different categories.

Research

• ChatGPT
• Claude
• DeepSeek R1
• Gemini
• Abacus
• Perplexity

Image Generation

• Midjourney
• DALL-E 3
• Flux
• Stability AI
• Grok

Website Builders

• Lovable.dev
• Replit
• Framer
• Style AI
• Landingsite

Video

• Sora
• Loom
• Kling
• Pika
• InVideo
• HeyGen
• Runway
• ImgCreator AI
• Morphstudio

Meetings

• tl;dv
• Otter
• Noty AI
• Fireflies

SEO

• VidIQ
• Seona AI
• BlogSEO
• Keywrds AI

Chatbots

• Droxy
• Chatbase
• Mutual Info
• Chatsimple

Presentations

• Decktopus
• Slides AI
• Gamma
• Designs AI
• Beautiful AI
• PopAI

Automation

• Make
• Zapier
• Xembly
• Bardeen

UI / UX

• Figma
• Uizard
• UiMagic
• Photoshop

Design

• Canva
• Flair AI
• Clipdrop
• Autodraw
• Magician Design

Logo Generators

• Looka
• Designs AI
• Brandmark
• Stockimg AI
• Namecheap

Audio

• Lovo AI
• ElevenLabs
• Songburst AI
• Adobe Podcast

Additional AI Tools Worth Exploring

Timely
AI automatic time tracker

https://timelyapp.com

Steve AI
Create video with AI

https://steve.ai

tl;dv
AI meeting summarizer

https://tldv.io

Postwise
Grow your Twitter using AI

https://postwise.ai

SourceAI
Generate code with AI

https://sourceai.dev

Final Thoughts

AI doesn’t replace work.

But it does compress timelines.

Things that used to take:

• weeks
• multiple freelancers
• entire teams

can now often be done by one person with the right workflow.

The real advantage isn’t just using AI tools.

It’s knowing how to combine them into a system.

Future by Melissa
Dispatches on AI, culture, and emerging technology

I’m a woman in COMPUTER: (Creating, Obsessing, Making, Posting, Uploading, Typing, Emailing, Researching)

The Dock (formerly known as The Lab to OG Miami Tech people) has been a gathering spot for technologists over the last decade. It’s where I participated in the hackathon, sitting in an air conditioned chilly room for over nine hours, patiently waiting for my app feature to be pushed from preview to production. My Saturday afternoons are usually spent on the beach or poolside, but this time, I was amongst some of the hopeful creative entrepreneurs working towards getting their products to work. This type of energy is like no other. We were sitting at a long table, with a DJ and MC playing the weirdest tunes from deep house to techno, the tempo getting faster as the day went on. I noticed the guy sitting in front of me getting frustrated. The guy sitting next to me, just staring at his blank screen unable to figure out what to build. And another guy sitting to my right, seemingly building something beyond his own screen capabilities — and he was working with FOUR screens!

Meanwhile, I arrived with the goal of debugging my login just so I could continue posting new content on Violet Verse, and left with a whole new feature and an idea for something scalable. I was jumping for joy in my seat every time my coding agent deployed and a green “built” signal showed up on my screen, signifying that my prompt was a success. When the competition slowly started to go home in defeat, my energy increased — claiming a second place prize!!! My name was not only announced first, but I won a few dollars to get my car fixed and pay for another Pilates class! You can check out the product demo here.

I’m a Woman in BLOOM (Books, Lounging, Oversleeping, Overdreaming, and Meditating)

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been quietly building, thinking, reading philosophical passages about ideation and how to quantify the sublime in tech. If taste is something that can’t be taught, how will the next wave of careers exist in a world where generative AI is replacing mostly women-centric skills?

It may be quiet on my end, but I’m birthing a whole new way I’ll be approaching my work. Blockchain and AI are evolving from infrastructure, and more into systems and implementations. People want to know how to use it to make money, increase their efficiency and better their lives. From a technologist front, there’s so many new tools to help us with scheduling, booking, uploading, writing, researching, all of the things that use to take us hours to do. Now, with clarity, utter fearlessness, and with an unrelenting mission to document the spirit and personality of culture, it’s time we start looking at this emerging tech through a different lens of confidence. We need to start remixing the same capitalistic systems that haven’t been favorable to artists and writers. After all, they aren’t smarter than US. I’ve been speaking about this for over a year — my work in blockchain, my curiosity for evolving artificial intelligence, while still thinking about the ethical implications of how it may affect society who are less than. It’s no secret, AI isn’t where it should be, but it’s moving faster than I can type and my fingers hurt as I type this, but still I need to deliver it to you. I was listening to the More or Less podcast and they were speaking about how their budget for tinkering with all these consumer agents is thousands of dollars a month. I was shocked!! I’m talking about just testing out OpenClaw or Blue Ocean — their budget is more than most of our monthly rent. This is the reality of AI. If we don’t start using the technology as early adopters, we will be left out of the conversation. I digress… these are the things that are keeping me busier than the Miami tech scene going viral on X, thanks to Palantir announcing its new headquarters on South Beach.

I’ll be back with more insight here, but check out Violet Verse’s new look: media and cultural intelligence, a hub for you and me to keep pushing forward.

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I typed that message to someone I’d known for years after he completely ignored me when I asked what he was building and what stage it was in. I sent it, half-annoyed and half-embarrassed, and immediately felt a …

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Somewhere in between mid-morning and afternoon, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce filed into our Senate briefing room to update us on the latest rules and regulations for crypto companies. According to the commissioner, favorable treatment for crypto companies is her top priority, so long as the crypto company is following the rules. There will be an “innovation exemption” for those companies who want to experiment with crypto under SEC guardrails. Moreover, blockchain companies are encouraged to submit letters to the SEC to make sure they get on the exempt list.

The room was filled with so many women from different sectors of crypto. Staffers popped in and out the room — handing out their cards to us delegates to learn more about our stories. The goal was to make our stories heard so that we will be reflected in the upcoming Senate bill on market structure. On the plane back home, I texted one of my new contacts, “get ready for the crypto story you haven’t heard before”… She hearted the message. I digress.. One of the key takeaways from the day was “Harness the power, but don’t do it alone.” More on this later…

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So a lot of people equate success with danger. Mos…

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First, Meta just laid off over 600 LLM researchers — many of them PhDs from its FAIR Research Program — and quietly renamed its AI division to “Superintelligence Lab.” This move follows Meta’…

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Luckily, because we’re human and the majority of us reading this Substack know what it’s like to experience internet dial up, we can decipher fake and phony content.

Here are 3 tips for identifying AI Slop:

• Verify quotes (always source-check). For legal professions, refer to top credible sources like Lexis Nexis. For stats or data, ask for references. Always be specific when writing prompts. Amtbuiguity leads to mess. Instead of writing “Give me the top youtube creators.” Re-word to say: “Provide the Youtube creators in the 1m+ subscriber range in 2025.”

• Ask for receipts (links, data, provenance). Fact checking is not just for journalists; it’s for humans too! When using tools like Claude, Deep Seek or even Grok on X, make sure your prompt responses can be backed by links and other data. Especially when you’re doing Math! I can’t tell you how many times my AI tools mess up simple math.

• Rephrase it — if AI can’t explain its own logic, it’s guessing. Ask your AI prompt for a different way to write or explain their logic.

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It’s also no secret that men use AI more than women, with about 20% of activity tied to vibe-coding projects. Wh…

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