AR LABS

AR Labs is Richard M. Thompson’s AI engineering lab: it builds AI agents, voice interfaces and the systems that coordinate them.

1. 

   01PROJECTS33 projects

   built & building

   • VOX OSdesigning
   • CODING PLANNERbuilding
   • VOX CANVASbuilding
   • GOAL MAP / AGENT ORCHESTRATORbuilding
   • TERMINAL ORCHESTRATOR (VOX TORCH)building
   • DISCOVERY COPILOTbuilding

   ▸ salesbot — folded inside▾ salesbot — unfolded

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   1. 

      01.1SALESBOT

      currently active — talk to it live

   2. 01.2ALL 33 →

      every project, on the projects page

2. 

   02CONCEPTS20 concepts

   the ideas the lab runs on

   ▸ vox · cognitive ecology · what we believe — folded inside▾ vox · cognitive ecology · what we believe — unfolded

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   1. 

      02.1VOX

      seamless voice, generative visuals — a new way of working

   2. 

      02.2COGNITIVE ECOLOGY

      principles & frameworks that inform the work

   3. 02.3WHAT WE BELIEVE

      the lab’s positions on AI, written as views

   4. 02.4ALL 20 →

      every concept, on the concepts page

3. 

   03ENGINEERING28 practices

   how the lab builds software with AI agents

   ▸ the pipeline · evidence of completion — folded inside▾ the pipeline · evidence of completion — unfolded

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   1. 03.1THE PIPELINE

      spec, test-first build, second-model review, a person’s merge

   2. 03.2EVIDENCE OF COMPLETION

      every promise proved by a test or an artefact

   3. 03.3ALL 28 →

      every practice, on the engineering page

4. 

   04SKILLS28 skills

   packaged know-how the lab’s agents load

   ▸ researchbot · grill me — folded inside▾ researchbot · grill me — unfolded

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   1. 04.1RESEARCHBOT

      research that checks its sources

   2. 04.2GRILL ME

      a design interview before anything is built

   3. 04.3ALL 28 →

      every skill, on the skills page

5. 

   05RESEARCH30 reports

   what the lab looked into, and what it found

   ▸ how we research · conversation models — folded inside▾ how we research · conversation models — unfolded

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   1. 05.1HOW WE RESEARCH

      how the lab weighs a source

   2. 05.2CONVERSATION MODELS

      how a voice agent finds its way through a call

   3. 05.3ALL 30 →

      every report, on the research page

1. 

   06CASE STUDIES3 case studies

   the lab’s methods applied to a real problem

   ▸ music school · discovery method — folded inside▾ music school · discovery method — unfolded

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   1. 06.1MUSIC SCHOOL

      from enquiry to booked lesson, the owner in charge

   2. 06.2DISCOVERY METHOD

      recordings of real work, read by AI agents

   3. 06.3ALL 3 →

      every case study, on the case studies page

2. 

   07OPERATIONS10 notes

   how one person and a set of AI agents run the lab

   ▸ strategy agent · one-person company — folded inside▾ strategy agent · one-person company — unfolded

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   1. 07.1STRATEGY AGENT

      planning cadences, yearly to daily

   2. 07.2ONE-PERSON COMPANY

      departments run with AI agents

   3. 07.3ALL 10 →

      every note, on the operations page

3. 

   08GUIDES10 guides

   step by step: automating the routine work of a small business

   ▸ music school scheduling · what to automate — folded inside▾ music school scheduling · what to automate — unfolded

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   1. 08.1MUSIC SCHOOL SCHEDULING

      from first enquiry to a booked weekly lesson

   2. 08.2WHAT TO AUTOMATE

      where AI helps a small business, and where it does not

   3. 08.3ALL 10 →

      every guide, on the guides page

4. 

   09WRITING11 essays

   essays from the lab bench

   ▸ the acceleration paradox · what 2 years of self-taught ai engineering actually looks like · core-loop — folded inside▾ the acceleration paradox · what 2 years of self-taught ai engineering actually looks like · core-loop — unfolded

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   1. 09.1THE ACCELERATION PARADOX

      29 Apr 2026

   2. 09.2WHAT 2 YEARS OF SELF-TAUGHT AI ENGINEERING ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE

      14 Nov 2025

   3. 09.3CORE-LOOP

      22 Apr 2025

   4. 09.4ALL 11 →

      every essay, on the writing page

5. 

   10ABOUT

   AR Labs & Richard M. Thompson

   ▸ the loop · how an engagement runs — folded inside▾ the loop · how an engagement runs — unfolded

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   1. 

      10.1THE LOOP

      self-developing · self-funding · self-educating

   2. 10.2HOW AN ENGAGEMENT RUNS

      the client delivery framework, phase by phase