sjayasinghe

The reliability of the information depends on two factors:

* The quality of project resources that you're working with. You use your actual textbooks from class, the quality would be higher. Some random articles online, the quality would be worse. You have complete control over the source material that the LLM uses as context.

* The specific model that you're working with. The system is model-agnostic, you can bring your favorite model.

On privacy, I plan to make this a local-first application where you can bring your own LLM API key from any provider, and the API calls are made from your own machine to your LLM provider. In addition to a 3rd party LLM provider, you can use a local model running on your machine for maximum privacy. This is also the easiest way to ensure user ownership of their educational material.

SEEKING WORK | Bangkok, Thailand | Remote

Technologies: Javascript, TypeScript, Node.js, Next.js, React, Python, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sj2564 [at] columbia [dot] edu

I’m a generalist engineer with past experience including full-stack engineering at a YC legal-tech startup and full-stack + cloud infra at an NYC quant fund. I also have entrepreneurship experience that gives me an understanding of the end-to-end product development process at early stage startups.

My current project is a study mode for AI assistants with spaced repetition integration: https://app.polymax.ai/study-mode

I’m skilled at taking initiative on projects and synthesizing requirements from multiple stakeholders into meaningful technical solutions. I’m passionate about functional programming, building reliable and scalable distributed systems, and optimizing developer experience. I also speak 4 languages (English, Sinhala, Mandarin Chinese, and Thai).

Location: Bangkok, Thailand (currently)

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Yes

Technologies: Javascript, TypeScript, Node.js, Next.js, React, Python, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sj2564 [at] columbia [dot] edu

I’m a generalist engineer with past experience including full-stack engineering at a YC legal-tech startup and full-stack + cloud infra at an NYC quant fund. I also have entrepreneurship experience that gives me an understanding of the end-to-end product development process at early stage startups.

My current project is a study mode for AI assistants with spaced repetition integration: https://app.polymax.ai/study-mode

I’m skilled at taking initiative on projects and synthesizing requirements from multiple stakeholders into meaningful technical solutions. I’m passionate about functional programming, building reliable and scalable distributed systems, and optimizing developer experience. I also speak 4 languages (English, Sinhala, Mandarin Chinese, and Thai).

I’ve been working on a passion project called Polymax for the past few years to eliminate the friction that currently exists in getting new information into Spaced Repetition Systems such as Anki.

Spaced repetition is the most powerful technique that I came across while I was studying Chinese that allowed me to optimize how I memorize information. Even though it’s extremely powerful, there is a lot of effort involved in creating new cards for things that you are learning on a continuous basis.

Since the advent of LLMs, I’ve been working on using them to make spaced repetition easier to use. I was originally not planning to release this in its current form, but since OpenAI has released their study mode, I figured I’d share it with the HN community to get your thoughts and feedback.

—

My main questions for you: 1. What do you think of the concept overall? Is an AI study buddy that generates flashcards something you would use? 2. I want to monetize this in an ethical way that respects user privacy and data ownership. What monetization models would you suggest given my local-first roadmap? 3. What other features would make this a compelling study tool for you?

Really appreciate any insights that I can get from you. Happy to answer any other questions in the comments.

The ability to receive live transcripts from a webhook, including speaker diarization metadata would be super useful.

SEEKING WORK | London, UK | Thailand | Remote

Technologies: Javascript, TypeScript, Node.js, Next.js, React, Python, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sam [at] jayasinghe [dot] io

I’m a generalist engineer with past experience including full-stack engineering at a YC legal-tech startup and full-stack + cloud infra at an NYC quant fund. I also have entrepreneurship experience that gives me an understanding of the end-to-end product development process at early stage startups.

My recent projects include building a realtime voice-based AI personal assistant—one that actively calls you on the phone, rather than passively waiting for you to interact with it, as well as a philanthropic project in the AI ed-tech space.

I’m skilled at taking initiative on projects and synthesizing requirements from multiple stakeholders into meaningful technical solutions. I’m passionate about functional programming, building reliable and scalable distributed systems, and optimizing developer experience. I also speak 4 languages (English, Sinhala, Mandarin Chinese, and Thai).

Location: London, UK | Thailand

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Yes

Technologies: Javascript, TypeScript, Node.js, Next.js, React, Python, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sam [at] jayasinghe [dot] io

I’m a generalist engineer with past experience including full-stack engineering at a YC legal-tech startup and full-stack + cloud infra at an NYC quant fund. I also have entrepreneurship experience that gives me an understanding of the end-to-end product development process at early stage startups.

My recent projects include building a realtime voice-based AI personal assistant—one that actively calls you on the phone, rather than passively waiting for you to interact with it, as well as a philanthropic project in the AI ed-tech space.

I’m skilled at taking initiative on projects and synthesizing requirements from multiple stakeholders into meaningful technical solutions. I’m passionate about functional programming, building reliable and scalable distributed systems, and optimizing developer experience. I also speak 4 languages (English, Sinhala, Mandarin Chinese, and Thai).

SEEKING WORK | Thailand | Remote

Technologies: Javascript, TypeScript, Node.js, Next.js, React, Python, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sam [at] jayasinghe [dot] io

I’m a generalist engineer with past experience including full-stack engineering at a YC legal-tech startup and full-stack + cloud infra at an NYC quant fund. I also have entrepreneurship experience that gives me an understanding of the end-to-end product development process at early stage startups.

My recent projects include building a realtime voice-based AI personal assistant—one that actively calls you on the phone, rather than passively waiting for you to interact with it, as well as a philanthropic project in the AI ed-tech space.

I’m skilled at taking initiative on projects and synthesizing requirements from multiple stakeholders into meaningful technical solutions. I’m passionate about functional programming, building reliable and scalable distributed systems, and optimizing developer experience. I also speak 4 languages (English, Sinhala, Mandarin Chinese, and Thai).

Location: Thailand

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: No, but open to work-related travel

Technologies: Javascript, TypeScript, Node.js, Next.js, React, Python, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sam [at] jayasinghe [dot] io

I’m a generalist engineer with past experience including full-stack engineering at a YC legal-tech startup and full-stack + cloud infra at an NYC quant fund. I also have entrepreneurship experience that gives me an understanding of the end-to-end product development process at early stage startups.

My recent projects include building a realtime voice-based AI personal assistant—one that actively calls you on the phone, rather than passively waiting for you to interact with it, as well as a philanthropic project in the AI ed-tech space.

I’m skilled at taking initiative on projects and synthesizing requirements from multiple stakeholders into meaningful technical solutions. I’m passionate about functional programming, building reliable and scalable distributed systems, and optimizing developer experience. I also speak 4 languages (English, Sinhala, Mandarin Chinese, and Thai).

Sent you an email.

I'm currently building a hybrid experience where users can have long conversations for things like conversation practice, while the bot also having the ability to present Anki-style flashcards. I'm also exploring other modalities for "cards" such as questions that would allow the user to respond to the bot's question with a voice message, and having the system analyze the recording for pronunciation/tone issues. Weaving these multiple modalities into a seamless experience is something that I'm still working on.

RemNote looks really cool, and it seems like they are exploring similar problems to the one's I'm trying to solve. It will definitely be a valuable source of inspiration. Thanks for putting this on my radar!

OP here with additional details requested by several of the commenters. Thanks so much to everyone for your responses on this thread, as well as those who reached out via email with suggestions and opportunities for collaboration.

Description of the stack:

- The frontend is a TypeScript Next.js app, with Prisma and RDS Postgres for persistence, and S3 for storing files uploaded by users.

- On the backend I have a BullMQ worker for handling asynchronous tasks such as audio/video transcription, backed by Redis.

- A Telegram bot that allows quickly adding resources from a phone and for having practice conversations with AI.

- Everything is deployed via a Github Actions pipeline, with images hosted on ECR and other AWS resources deployed using Terraform.

Preferably the solution would allow me to reuse at least parts of the existing CI/CD pipeline and Terraform for managing resources. Some of the suggestions by commenters such as running this on a machine in my home, while may be optimal from a cost minimization perspective, compromise a bit too much on quality-of-life for me—not simply from a developer perspective, but I also live somewhat of a nomadic lifestyle and prefer to have few physical possessions.

I already tried applying for AWS Activate but was rejected due to not meeting their criteria. I do not have a company or non-profit entity formally set up for this project. It initially started as a research project purely for personal interest, to explore how LLMs can be used for memory augmentation (in general, not just for language learning). I’ve been a user of conventional SRS tools such as Anki for many years, and have been frustrated by certain UX limitations that hindered consistent long-term use. Initially, I built it as a tool for myself, with me as the sole target audience. Onboarding foreign monks in Thailand was a fortuitous occurrence that I had not initially anticipated.

Location: New York City / London

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Yes, for the right opportunity

Technologies: Python, Javascript (Node.js, TypeScript, React, React Native), Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, OpenAI, Haskell, OCaml, GraphQL, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sam [at] jayasinghe [dot] io

Generalist software engineer with a broad range of experience including frontend, backend, and cloud infrastructure development. Past roles include full stack engineering at a YC-backed startup and VP of Engineering at a quantitative hedge fund.

What sets me apart? I have entrepreneurship experience that gives me an understanding of the end-to-end product development process at early stage startups. I am skilled at taking initiative on projects and turning vaguely defined requirements into concrete solutions. I am passionate about functional programming, engineering reliable and scalable software systems, and building engineering teams that consistently deliver quality results. I also speak 3 languages fluently (English, Sinhala, and Mandarin Chinese).

SEEKING WORK | New York City / London | Remote or on-site

Technologies: Python, Javascript (Node.js, TypeScript, React, React Native), Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, OpenAI, Haskell, OCaml, GraphQL, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sam [at] jayasinghe [dot] io

Generalist software engineer with a broad range of experience including frontend, backend, and cloud infrastructure development. Past roles include full stack engineering at a YC-backed startup and VP of Engineering at a quantitative hedge fund.

What sets me apart? I have entrepreneurship experience that gives me an understanding of the end-to-end product development process at early stage startups. I am skilled at taking initiative on projects and turning vaguely defined requirements into concrete solutions. I am passionate about functional programming, engineering reliable and scalable software systems, and building engineering teams that consistently deliver quality results. I also speak 3 languages fluently (English, Sinhala, and Mandarin Chinese).

SEEKING WORK | New York City / London | Remote or on-site

Technologies: Python, Javascript (Node.js, TypeScript, React, React Native), Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, OpenAI, Haskell, OCaml, GraphQL, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sam [at] jayasinghe [dot] io

Generalist software engineer with a broad range of experience including frontend, backend, and cloud infrastructure development. Past roles include full stack engineering at a YC-backed startup and VP of Engineering at a quantitative hedge fund.

What sets me apart? I have entrepreneurship experience that gives me an understanding of the end-to-end product development process at early stage startups. I am skilled at taking initiative on projects and turning vaguely defined requirements into concrete solutions. I am passionate about functional programming, engineering reliable and scalable software systems, and building engineering teams that consistently deliver quality results. I also speak 3 languages fluently (English, Sinhala, and Mandarin Chinese).

Location: New York City / London

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Yes, for the right opportunity

Technologies: Python, Javascript (Node.js, TypeScript, React, React Native), Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, OpenAI, Haskell, OCaml, GraphQL, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sam [at] jayasinghe [dot] io

Generalist software engineer with a broad range of experience including frontend, backend, and cloud infrastructure development. Past roles include full stack engineering at a YC-backed startup and VP of Engineering at a quantitative hedge fund.

What sets me apart? I have entrepreneurship experience that gives me an understanding of the end-to-end product development process at early stage startups. I am skilled at taking initiative on projects and turning vaguely defined requirements into concrete solutions. I am passionate about functional programming, engineering reliable and scalable software systems, and building engineering teams that consistently deliver quality results. I also speak 3 languages fluently (English, Sinhala, and Mandarin Chinese).

Location: New York City / London

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Yes, for the right opportunity

Technologies: Python, Javascript (Node.js, TypeScript, React, React Native), Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, OpenAI, Haskell, OCaml, GraphQL, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sam [at] jayasinghe [dot] io

Generalist software engineer with a broad range of experience including frontend, backend, and cloud infrastructure development. Past roles include full stack engineering at a YC-backed startup and VP of Engineering at a quantitative hedge fund.

What sets me apart? I have entrepreneurship experience that gives me an understanding of the end-to-end product development process at early stage startups. I am skilled at taking initiative on projects and turning vaguely defined requirements into concrete solutions. I am passionate about functional programming, engineering reliable and scalable software systems, and building engineering teams that consistently deliver quality results. I also speak 3 languages fluently (English, Sinhala, and Mandarin Chinese).

SEEKING WORK | New York City / London | Remote or on-site

Technologies: Python, Javascript (Node.js, TypeScript, React, React Native), Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, OpenAI, Haskell, OCaml, GraphQL, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sam [at] jayasinghe [dot] io

Generalist software engineer with a broad range of experience including frontend, backend, and cloud infrastructure development. Past roles include full stack engineering at a YC-backed startup and VP of Engineering at a quantitative hedge fund.

What sets me apart? I have entrepreneurship experience that gives me an understanding of the end-to-end product development process at early stage startups. I am skilled at taking initiative on projects and turning vaguely defined requirements into concrete solutions. I am passionate about functional programming, engineering reliable and scalable software systems, and building engineering teams that consistently deliver quality results. I also speak 3 languages fluently (English, Sinhala, and Mandarin Chinese).

SEEKING WORK | New York City / London | Remote or on-site

Technologies: Python, Javascript (Node.js, TypeScript, React, React Native), Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, OpenAI, Haskell, OCaml, GraphQL, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sam [at] jayasinghe [dot] io

Generalist software engineer with a broad range of experience including frontend, backend, and cloud infrastructure development. Past roles include full stack engineering at a YC-backed startup and VP of Engineering at a quantitative hedge fund.

What sets me apart? I have entrepreneurship experience that gives me an understanding of the end-to-end product development process at early stage startups. I am skilled at taking initiative on projects and turning vaguely defined requirements into concrete solutions. I am passionate about functional programming, engineering reliable and scalable software systems, and building engineering teams that consistently deliver quality results. I also speak 3 languages fluently (English, Sinhala, and Mandarin Chinese).

Location: New York City / London

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Yes, for the right opportunity

Technologies: Python, Javascript (Node.js, TypeScript, React, React Native), Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, OpenAI, Haskell, OCaml, GraphQL, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sam [at] jayasinghe [dot] io

Generalist software engineer with a broad range of experience including frontend, backend, and cloud infrastructure development. Past roles include full stack engineering at a YC-backed startup and VP of Engineering at a quantitative hedge fund.

What sets me apart? I have entrepreneurship experience that gives me an understanding of the end-to-end product development process at early stage startups. I am skilled at taking initiative on projects and turning vaguely defined requirements into concrete solutions. I am passionate about functional programming, engineering reliable and scalable software systems, and building engineering teams that consistently deliver quality results. I also speak 3 languages fluently (English, Sinhala, and Mandarin Chinese).

SEEKING WORK | London / Asia | Remote

Technologies: Javascript(Node.js, TypeScript, React, React Native), Python, OpenAI, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, Haskell, OCaml, GraphQL, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sj2564 [at] columbia [dot] edu

I'm a Columbia University computer science graduate with past work experience ranging from full-stack software engineering at a Y Combinator startup to VP of Engineering at a hedge fund.

I currently provide software engineering consulting services including full-stack engineering, infrastructure, and cybersecurity consulting.

I speak 3 languages fluently (English, Sinhala, and Mandarin Chinese).

Location: London / Asia

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: For the right opportunity

Technologies: Javascript(Node.js, TypeScript, React, React Native), Python, OpenAI, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, Haskell, OCaml, GraphQL, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sj2564 [at] columbia [dot] edu

I'm a Columbia University computer science graduate with past work experience ranging from full-stack software engineering at a Y Combinator startup to VP of Engineering at a hedge fund.

I currently provide software engineering consulting services including full-stack engineering, infrastructure, and cybersecurity consulting.

Also willing to consider full-time positions.

I speak 3 languages fluently (English, Sinhala, and Mandarin Chinese).

Location: London / Asia

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: For the right opportunity

Technologies: Javascript(Node.js, TypeScript, React, React Native), Python, OpenAI, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, Haskell, OCaml, GraphQL, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sj2564 [at] columbia [dot] edu

I'm a Columbia University computer science graduate with past work experience ranging from full-stack software engineering at a Y Combinator startup to VP of Engineering at a hedge fund.

I currently provide software engineering consulting services including full-stack engineering, infrastructure, and cybersecurity consulting.

Also willing to consider full-time positions, especially ones related to LLM/LMM applications or BMI tech.

I speak 3 languages fluently (English, Sinhala, and Mandarin Chinese).

Location: London

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: Javascript(Node.js, TypeScript, React, React Native), Python, OpenAI, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, Haskell, OCaml, GraphQL, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sj2564 [at] columbia [dot] edu

I'm a Columbia University computer science graduate with past work experience ranging from full-stack software engineering at a Y Combinator startup to VP of Engineering at a hedge fund.

I currently provide software engineering consulting services including full-stack engineering, infrastructure, and cybersecurity consulting.

I also speak 3 languages fluently (English, Sinhala, and Mandarin Chinese).

Location: London

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: Javascript(Node.js, TypeScript, React, React Native), Python, OpenAI, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS, GCP, Haskell, OCaml, GraphQL, SQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis.

Résumé/CV: Available on request via email

Email: sj2564 [at] columbia [dot] edu

I'm a Columbia University computer science graduate with past work experience ranging from full-stack software engineering at a Y Combinator startup to VP of Engineering at a hedge fund.

I currently provide software engineering consulting services including full-stack engineering, infrastructure, and cybersecurity consulting.

I also speak 3 languages fluently (English, Sinhala, and Mandarin Chinese).

I'm using the word here to mean a philosophical position which only accepts knowledge that can be gained via direct meditative experience and rejects everything else. I'm open to suggestions for a better word to describe this position.

I interpret the author’s difficulties and frustration as a byproduct of a particular misapprehension of Buddhist teachings in modern society. Many modern-day practitioners, both in the east and the west, are under the impression that simply by mechanically practicing mindfulness meditation they will eventually reach a state of enlightenment. Unfortunately, this is a misunderstanding that the Buddha himself addressed in the teachings. The Noble Eightfold Path is at the heart of Buddhist practice, and it’s structured such that “right view” comes in first place, while “right mindfulness” and “right concentration” come at the very end. According to these teachings, it’s impossible to attain the right kind of mindfulness conducive to the cessation of stress without first satisfying the precondition of right view. Without right view, the practitioner is essentially flying blind. The modern mindfulness movement in its zeal to secularize these practices is incapable of accepting the proposition that the right teaching has to be first grasped before embarking on the practice, as this contradicts the purely empiricist approach of mechanically practicing mindfulness with the expectation that this leads to enlightenment. The author’s comments such as “I thought awakening was right around the corner and now feel broken and betrayed” are indicative of such an expectation being broken. The Buddha explains the danger of misconceiving the teachings using the snake simile, in which the Buddha compares the teachings to a snake that has to be first grabbed by the head and then tail. Trying to grab the snake by the tail first will only result in being bitten. This simile can be applied quite literally to the structure of The Noble Eightfold Path, where right view can be interpreted as the head of the snake, and right mindfulness/concentration as the tail.