Florian's Filter — W17 2026

Welcome back! This is the third installation of my newsletter, and I am already happy to create this public archive of interesting content. From the buzzwords generated by LLMs to the physical modularity of new hardware, the underlying structures are shifting. This week's curation explores both the risks and the practical utilities appearing in these shifts.

Articles

• Researchers Asked LLMs for Strategic Advice. They Got “Trendslop” in Return.
  HBR analysis on how AI recommends buzzwords over logic. CEOs and consultants should be aware of this phenomenon when planning.
• Are the Costs of AI Agents Also Rising Exponentially? — Toby Ord
  An analysis comparing the rising costs of AI agents to the human working hours they might displace. This offers a practical lens on how to leverage AI subscriptions.
• The Citizen Lab Bad Connection: Uncovering Global Telecom Exploitation by Covert Surveillance Actors
  An investigation into how surveillance actors exploit global telecom infrastructure. The findings highlight the significant responsibility telco providers hold in protecting users.
• Friends Don't Let Friends Use Ollama
  A critique of Ollama's recent pivots and attribution issues. The arguments presented here are enough to make me consider a complete replacement.

Tools

• GitHub - microsoft/markitdown: Python tool for converting files and office documents to Markdown.
  A Python tool from Microsoft for converting Office documents to Markdown. It is highly effective for preparing LLM context, having reduced a 3.6 MB Word file to just 58 KB of text.
• OpenAI Privacy Filter
  A new model from OpenAI designed to help filter out PII data. This could be a useful addition to custom anonymization routines used in professional settings.

Videos

• We heard you: the new Framework Laptop 13 Pro.
  A redesign focused on modularity and repairability. The approach to hardware is impressive, particularly the "interposer"- a word that Framework actually taught me when they first introduced it (to me) with their graphics module.