AI Tactics To Stop Context Rot #ai #dylandavis #context #window #rot #handoff

ai_context_rot.md

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaQG-eD9d58&t=1s

Four Tactics To Stop Context Rot

1. Handoff Summary
2. Strategic files -> Text cheap, video expensive
3. Experiment -> Build intuitiion as models improve
4. Strategic Summaries -> Extend when you can't restart

Performance vs Context Usage

Applying tactics will extend context window viability - 50-60% sweet spot before dropoff

Instructions Fade

• Repeating yourself 3, 4, 5 times
• "Under 200 words" ignored - returns 600 words

AI Contrdicts Itself

• Different answers to the same question
• Starts to get dumber

Facts Disappear

• Long running conversation
• Your data vanishes or gets hallucinated
• $9,000 becomes $6,500

Context Handoff

• Claude automatically compacts the conversation
  • Assesses the conversation for ~90% context usage
  • Automatically summarizes
  • Creates new AI in the same thread
  • Passes the summary (not the details) to the new AI
  • Results in lost details

The Handoff Process

At ~60 context window capacity - Get summary of Goals and Decisions - Ask AI to summarize - What we covered - What we decided - Where we left off - What's next - Create a NEW chat - Paste first - New AI will pick up where the last AI left off

- Fresh start/Context inteact

Token Expense

1. Text/CSV - Cheap
2. PDF - Moderate
3. Images - Expensive
4. Excel - Very Expensive
5. Video - Most Expensive

Get AI Exactly What It Needs

• Check token cost in AI Studio first
• Filter out what AI doesn't need
• Export only the tabs and rows you need