Hey, I’m Dave 👋

I’ve been building software for over 20 years. Started back when we were still arguing about tabs vs spaces (spaces, obviously), survived the jQuery era, weathered the JavaScript framework wars, and shipped more REST APIs than I can count.

But here’s the thing. Nothing in two decades of tech has felt quite like what’s happening right now with AI. I remember the first time I used GPT to debug a gnarly race condition at 2am and thought, “okay, everything just changed.” That feeling hasn’t gone away. If anything, it gets stronger every week.

I started Dave’s AI Picks because I was already doing the research for myself. Every new AI tool that launched, I’d sign up, kick the tires, try to break it, and then text my friends about whether it was actually worth paying for. Eventually one of them said, “dude, just start a blog.”

So here we are. No corporate BS, no sponsored rankings, no “Top 47 Tools You NEED” listicles written by someone who’s never used any of them. Just honest takes from someone who actually builds things with these tools every day.

What I Look For

When I review a tool, I’m asking the same questions you are: Does it actually save me time? Is the output good enough that I’m not rewriting everything anyway? Is the pricing fair for what you get? Can a normal person figure it out without watching a 45 minute YouTube tutorial?

I test everything with real projects, not demo data, not “hello world” prompts. If a writing tool can’t handle a nuanced product comparison, I’ll tell you. If a project management app’s AI features are just glorified autocomplete, you’ll hear about it.

The Affiliate Thing

Full transparency: some links on this site are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you sign up through them. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, and it helps keep this site running. But here’s my promise: I’ll never recommend something I wouldn’t use myself, and I’ll never rank a tool higher because they pay more. My reputation matters more to me than a commission check.

Let’s Connect

Got a tool you want me to review? Think I got something wrong? Just want to nerd out about the latest AI drop? I’d genuinely love to hear from you. Shoot me an email at [email protected]. I read everything and try to respond to everyone.

Happy building,
Dave