Realistic photography: a modern AI data center corridor with GPU server racks on both sides, blue and amber status LEDs, cool blue-tinted deep perspective composition

DeepSeek's Price Increase Goes Beyond GPU Costs

TL;DR: On August 6, 2026, DeepSeek announced that it plans to raise API prices. No single cause: cost pass-through, user filtering, expectation management, free marketing, a shift to value-based pricing, and open-source ecosystem pressure all point at the same move. Rising compute costs are real, but they don’t explain the timing or the form of the announcement. The market is largely moving from winning share with low prices toward value-based pricing, and seven falsifiable signals before the official plan will confirm or overturn this post’s inferences. ...

2026-08-07 · 8 min · Alex Wang
Watercolor: chat bubbles dissolving into a token stream flowing into a notebook and brass key on a desk

AI Path L1→L2 Upgrade Guide (1): Your First API Call

TL;DR: This is Part 1 of the “AI Path L1→L2 Upgrade Guide” series. Four parts total, one per week of practice. This article takes you from chat windows to APIs, automating your AI interactions through code, laying the foundation for batch processing and autonomous task-execution AI. Introduction: From “I Ask AI” to “Programs Ask AI” If you finished the L0→L1 graduation checklist, you might remember one line from the graduation post: “Register for an API account and use Python to print your first AI reply.” Today is that day. ...

2026-06-01 · 12 min · Alex Wang
Watercolor illustration: three artisan tools on a warm wooden workbench: a wide terracotta bowl, an elegant glass carafe, and a segmented wooden organizer, each suited for different tasks, no ranking implied

Pick Your AI by the Job, Not the Ranking

Tried ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek… and still can’t decide which one to stick with? Here’s the thing: that’s the wrong question. There is no universally best AI, only the one that fits what you’re doing right now. What’s your scenario? “I want a general-purpose assistant for everything” → ChatGPT. As of May 2026 the default is GPT-5.5, well-rounded, with the richest plugin ecosystem. If you pick just one, this is a solid choice. ...

2026-05-15 · 1 min · Alex Wang