Thanks...to you, and you, and AI too

I launched Ground Level AI on my own, but not alone

One week ago, I was so nervous and excited the day before launching Ground Level AI that I could barely eat. Zero appetite is my anxiety symptom of choice, and if that’s what being on a GLP-1 is like, count me out!

Skipping a few meals was totally worth it, though. Launch day was busy and buzzy and included hopping a flight to San Francisco. And as my anxiety melted away, the main emotion I felt was gratitude: to everyone who gave me advance advice on launching an independent newsletter, everyone who subscribed, everyone who sent messages of support, everyone who reached out about collaboration or sponsorship, and yes, to the AI tools that helped me make this project a reality (I’ll explain).

As I considered making the leap to launching an independent publication, I spoke to some true OGs in the tech newsletter space. Casey Newton of Platformer; Eric Newcomer of Newcomer; Alex Kantrowitz of Big Technology, and my former Fortune colleague Jason Del Rey of The Aisle were all kind enough to hop on Zooms with me to chat about what it’s really like to helm an indie tech publication day in and day out. They were honest: It’s not easy. I admired their moxie and my feeling of FOMO made me realize I was doing the right thing.

I also joined a community of creative builders helmed by Kait LeDonne that gave me a base of support and helped me think about how I really wanted to focus and present Ground Level AI — and also just made me feel brave (I practiced my power pose).

There’s no doubt that AI has also been a main character on board this launch ride. ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini all had long conversations with me about strategy, ideas, confidence-building and talking through pricing and revenue scenarios. Claude designed my logos and color schemes; ChatGPT helped me fine-tune my elevator speech; and Gemini was a favored back-up for all research and editing.

AI does not write my stories or do my reporting for me. But as a solo builder, it truly has amped up what I can do on my own. It transcribes my interviews. It proofreads and organizes and offers feedback like an editor. For me, it truly is a partner that allows me to speed up my process and focus on original reporting and storytelling.

I so appreciate everyone who has subscribed to Ground Level AI so far, including those who followed me over from my previous Substack, AI Side Notes (or its even earlier version, Sharon’s AI Extra, launched back in September 2023!). For free subscribers, I hope you enjoy the public posts and previews I share for every piece.

Paid subscribers get full access to everything, including a once-a-week Substack chat where I talk through what’s going on in AI and what you’d like to see more of. And Ground Level Insider subscribers also get a one-on-one Zoom call with me each year — which I’m really excited about (and can talk separately to anyone interested in more of that).

Either way, thank you for being here and trusting an independent operation with a masthead that is just me! After four years covering AI as a daily beat at Fortune and VentureBeat, I’m thrilled to get Ground Level AI off the ground. For those just joining: Ground Level AI is field reporting from the AI front lines — original and often on-the-ground coverage of the infrastructure, data centers, cybersecurity, business and policy decisions shaping how AI actually gets built and deployed.

By the way, if any other journalists are considering the leap to independent publishing, or are simply looking for career advice, I’m happy to do the same for you that Casey, Eric, Alex and Jason did for me — just reach out at sharon@groundlevel-ai.com or feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.

Cheers and thanks,
Sharon