The Problem We Set Out to Solve

Existing AI tools treat research as question-answering. For serious researchers, journalists, and knowledge workers, that's not enough — citations get hallucinated, sources go unverified, and there's no real "human in the loop." Ubik Studio was built around the thesis that AI should assist rigorous research workflows, not replace judgment.

My Role

As the sole technical co-founder, I owned the entire technology layer — from architecture decisions down to production deploys.

• Designed and built the full-stack application from scratch (Next.js frontend, Python backend)
• Set up and maintained all infrastructure on Cloudflare Workers and edge compute
• Built the multi-model routing system that let researchers choose between providers
• Created the PDF annotation pipeline and citation verification engine
• Made every architectural call — database choice, deployment strategy, API design

Outcome

Ubik wound down in 2026. The core thesis — that AI should assist rigorous, citation-grounded research rather than replace judgment — carries directly into my current work on open infrastructure for human–agent research coproduction, above all the rrxiv protocol.