{"id":1380,"date":"2026-04-29T07:07:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T14:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/?p=1380"},"modified":"2026-04-29T06:57:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:57:02","slug":"what-ive-been-building-systems-ai-and-real-world-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/ai\/what-ive-been-building-systems-ai-and-real-world-data\/","title":{"rendered":"What I\u2019ve Been Building: Systems, AI, and Real-World Data"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Over the past several weeks, I\u2019ve been spending a lot of time thinking about systems.<\/p>\n<p>Some of that thinking has taken the form of writing.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve come across any of my recent posts, they might seem like they cover very different topics:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>cataloging rocks in a backyard<\/li>\n<li>building AI systems using MCP<\/li>\n<li>working with documents, images, and real-world data<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>At first glance, they don\u2019t appear to have much in common.<\/p>\n<p>But they\u2019re all exploring the same underlying idea.<\/p>\n<h2>The Common Thread<\/h2>\n<p>Across all of these posts, the focus has been on a specific kind of problem:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>How do we turn messy, real-world inputs into structured, usable systems?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>That problem shows up in many different forms.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes the input is physical:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>objects<\/li>\n<li>artifacts<\/li>\n<li>environments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sometimes it\u2019s digital:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>documents<\/li>\n<li>images<\/li>\n<li>logs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sometimes it\u2019s dynamic:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>motion<\/li>\n<li>behavior<\/li>\n<li>sensor data<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But the challenge is the same.<\/p>\n<p>The input is unstructured.<\/p>\n<p>The system needs structure.<\/p>\n<h2>The Backyard Quarry<\/h2>\n<p>One way I explored this idea was through a small project I called the <strong>Backyard Quarry<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>It started with a simple observation:<\/p>\n<p>There are a lot of rocks in the yard.<\/p>\n<p>From there, the problem evolved into something more interesting:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>how to represent physical objects as data<\/li>\n<li>how to capture images and measurements<\/li>\n<li>how to build pipelines around that data<\/li>\n<li>how to search and organize it<\/li>\n<li>how to think about digital twins<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What began as a small experiment became a way to explore system design in a constrained, tangible setting.<\/p>\n<h2>MCP and AI Systems<\/h2>\n<p>In parallel, I\u2019ve been writing about building AI systems using MCP.<\/p>\n<p>On the surface, this looks very different.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of rocks, the inputs are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>documents<\/li>\n<li>APIs<\/li>\n<li>models<\/li>\n<li>agent workflows<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But the structure is familiar.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>inputs are ingested<\/li>\n<li>processed<\/li>\n<li>transformed<\/li>\n<li>routed<\/li>\n<li>used by applications<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The system still needs to handle:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>variability<\/li>\n<li>scale<\/li>\n<li>imperfect data<\/li>\n<li>orchestration<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Different inputs.<\/p>\n<p>Same patterns.<\/p>\n<h2>From Objects to Systems<\/h2>\n<p>One of the more useful realizations in working through these ideas is this:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The problem is rarely about the individual object.<br \/>\nIt\u2019s about the system that handles many objects over time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Whether the object is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>a rock<\/li>\n<li>a document<\/li>\n<li>a sensor reading<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The questions become:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>how is it represented?<\/li>\n<li>how does it enter the system?<\/li>\n<li>how is it transformed?<\/li>\n<li>how is it stored?<\/li>\n<li>how is it retrieved?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These are system-level questions.<\/p>\n<h2>A Shared Architecture<\/h2>\n<p>Across these different domains, a common architecture begins to emerge.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1383\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1383\" style=\"width: 435px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1383\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/ai\/what-ive-been-building-systems-ai-and-real-world-data\/attachment\/real-world-data-to-system-architecture-diagram\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/real-world-data-to-system-architecture-diagram.png?fit=501%2C1179&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"501,1179\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"real-world-data-to-system-architecture-diagram\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;A common pattern for transforming real-world inputs into usable systems.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/real-world-data-to-system-architecture-diagram.png?fit=435%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-large wp-image-1383\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/real-world-data-to-system-architecture-diagram.png?resize=435%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Diagram showing how raw inputs are captured, processed, structured, indexed, and used by applications in a data system.\" width=\"435\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/real-world-data-to-system-architecture-diagram.png?resize=435%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 435w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/real-world-data-to-system-architecture-diagram.png?resize=127%2C300&amp;ssl=1 127w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/real-world-data-to-system-architecture-diagram.png?w=501&amp;ssl=1 501w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 435px) 85vw, 435px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1383\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A common pattern for transforming real-world inputs into usable systems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The labels change depending on the domain.<\/p>\n<p>But the structure remains consistent.<\/p>\n<h2>Why This Matters<\/h2>\n<p>Understanding this pattern makes it easier to approach new problems.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of starting from scratch each time, you can ask:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Where does the data come from?<\/li>\n<li>How does it enter the system?<\/li>\n<li>What transformations are required?<\/li>\n<li>How will it be used?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This reduces complexity.<\/p>\n<p>It also makes systems more predictable.<\/p>\n<h2>What I\u2019m Interested In<\/h2>\n<p>Going forward, I\u2019m particularly interested in systems that sit at the boundary between:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the physical world and digital systems<\/li>\n<li>unstructured inputs and structured data<\/li>\n<li>human workflows and automated processes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That includes areas like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>digital archiving<\/li>\n<li>photogrammetry and 3D capture<\/li>\n<li>AI-assisted analysis<\/li>\n<li>systems that track objects or behavior over time<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These problems are messy.<\/p>\n<p>Which is part of what makes them interesting.<\/p>\n<h2>A Continuing Exploration<\/h2>\n<p>The posts I\u2019ve been writing are not meant to be definitive.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re part of an ongoing exploration.<\/p>\n<p>A way to think through problems in public.<\/p>\n<p>And occasionally, a way to use a slightly unusual example \u2014 like a pile of rocks \u2014 to make broader ideas easier to see.<\/p>\n<h2>If You\u2019re Interested<\/h2>\n<p>If any of this resonates, you might find these useful:<\/p>\n<h3>The Backyard Quarry Series<\/h3>\n<p>A systems-focused look at modeling and working with physical objects starting with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/software-engineering\/the-backyard-quarry-turning-rocks-into-data\">Turning Rocks Into Data<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>MCP and AI Systems<\/h3>\n<p>A technical exploration of building agent-based systems and data pipelines. I&#8217;d suggest starting with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/ai\/mcp-usb-c-moment-ai-architecture\">The End of Glue Code: Why MCP is the USB-C Moment for AI Systems<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>More to come.<\/p>\n<p>And if nothing else, it turns out that even a backyard can be a good place to think about system design.<\/p>\n<a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-48 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-facebook nolightbox\" data-provider=\"facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" 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Some of that thinking has taken the form of writing. If you\u2019ve come across any of my recent posts, they might seem like they cover very different topics: cataloging rocks in a backyard building AI systems using MCP working with &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/ai\/what-ive-been-building-systems-ai-and-real-world-data\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;What I\u2019ve Been Building: Systems, AI, and Real-World Data&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1669,1739],"tags":[1668,1758,1764,1736,1754,1742],"yst_prominent_words":[99,232,797],"class_list":["post-1380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai","category-data-engineering","tag-ai","tag-architecture","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-data-engineering","tag-software-engineering","tag-systems-thinking","pmpro-has-access"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/blog-of-ken-w.-alger-69ea2ae1ee5e2.png?fit=1376%2C768&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8lx70-mg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1380"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1564,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380\/revisions\/1564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1380"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenwalger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=1380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}