Hi there!

I’m Alex Gude, a machine learning engineer with a passion for plots and algorithms, as well as cycling and photography. I got my start in the tech industry at Insight Data Science, after previously working as a high energy particle physicist at CERN and a cosmologist at Lawrence Berkeley Labs.

I write about whatever catches my attention here on this site; mostly that means data science, machine learning, deep learning, and software development. Follow me on BlueSky for real-time thoughts, and check out my Github page for code—bug reports and pull requests are always welcome!

Recent Writings

I write articles about machine learning, data science, and technology, as well as book reviews. You can find a sample of my most recent writings below:

My Favorite Books of 2025
I read 45 books in 2025, diving deep into sci-fi classics and modern hits. From the Hyperion Cantos and the final Culture novel to the philosophical action of Murderbot, plus one literary masterpiece that is actually a video game, here are my absolute favorites of the year.
The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons

The Fall of Hyperion, by Dan Simmons, is the second book in the Hyperion Cantos, but really it’s the second half of Hyperion. It brings the seven pilgrims’ story to an end and depicts the war between the TechnoCore, the Ousters, and the Hegemony.

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, is a story about two agents—Red and Blue—working for opposite factions from the far future, changing the past in an attempt to wipe out the other side.

Monday Begins on Saturday by Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky

Monday Begins on Saturday, by brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, is a Soviet sci-fi novel about scientist-magicians working at the National Institute for the Technology of Witchcraft and Thaumaturgy (NITWITT), where they study fairy-tale creatures and magic items.

The Darfsteller by Walter M. Miller Jr.

The Darfsteller, by Walter M. Miller Jr., is a Hugo Award-winning novelette about the obsolescence of the human artist. It follows Ryan Thornier, a former stage idol reduced to working as a janitor in a theater now run entirely by robots and an AI director, as he schemes to take the stage one last time.