Prof H Lab · where AI tools get tested, not hyped
Better tools. Better days.
I’m Prof. H. I teach AI and robotics for a living, test these tools with my own hands — and print the month every fact was checked.
Whether you’re 68 and opening ChatGPT for the first time, or up at midnight shipping your first website — same plain English, same respect.
Tested, not hypedDated factsPlain English
- How to Avoid Surveillance Pricing: What 8 Store Privacy Notices Say, and the Free Signal 4 of Them NameOn October 21, 2026 we read the U.S. privacy notices of 8 big shopping and ride apps: 0 say shopping history or demographics set an item’s price, 1 says browsing shapes its coupons, and 4 name Global Privacy Control. Plus the Maryland and Connecticut bans in force since October 1.
- Does Claude Max Include API Credits? Yes, $100 or $200 a Month Since Oct. 7Yes. Since Oct. 7, 2026, Claude Max includes $100 (Max 5x) or $200 (Max 20x) a month in Claude API credits, and Team plans get up to $500, per Anthropic’s own help centre. What the credit covers, why it skips Claude Code, how to claim it without linking the wrong organization, and what $100 buys. Verified Oct. 17, 2026.
Read the brief →No hype, no panic — just the math.
This site does one thing: it tests AI tools and reports what they actually cost and actually do — with the month the facts were checked printed on the page.
My students ask me what’s real. Readers my parents’ age ask me what’s safe. This page is my answer to both — checked by hand, dated, and corrected in public when I’m wrong.
— Prof. H · from the lab, August 2026
Watch · 4 minutes
The Safe Word That Beats a Cloned Voice
The one video to show your family this week: a four-word defense against voice-clone phone scams — four rules for choosing the word, the exact script, and the first 60 minutes if money already left. Every figure from the FBI’s 2025 IC3 report.
Watch on YouTube · based on the written guide: AI scams targeting seniors — the safe-word system, with a free printable family kit.
THREE KINDS OF AI · FOUR WAYS IN
Generative AI writes. Agentic AI does. Physical AI moves.
Pick the sentence that sounds like you — every path is numbered, and every path starts at 1.
“I’ve never used AI.”
The Beginner Path — eight guides with a screenshot of every button, and no question treated as silly.
1 ChatGPT step by step → 2 free tools → 3 the family safe word → 4 old photos → 5 letters → 6 Excel → 7 trip planning → 8 the doctor visit →
“I want AI to build my first website.”
The Vibe Coding Course — 11 parts, free, with a printable 100-point scorecard.
Begin at Part 1 — no install, a working page in ten minutes →
“I teach this.”
The 15-week syllabus, the grading rubric, and honest data from 27 student sites.
Includes the four things I got wrong →
“Show me the robots.”
Foundations first — five ideas, no math — then 7 papers decoded, machines priced.
Start at Physical AI Foundations →
Just prices? The Price Tracker · A specific question? 132 answers in the FAQ
THIS MONTH AT THE LAB · AUGUST 2026
- 54 tests and guides now live across three libraries
- The Vibe Coding Course completed — all 11 parts, with a printable scorecard
- Every price on the Tracker re-verified on vendor pages this month
- New: The Briefing — a weekly plain-English brief on money, benefits, and AI
Prof.’s H Newsletter
One short email a month, with the numbers in it
What actually moved in AI hiring, AI prices, and the scams aimed at older Americans. Counted here, dated, and linked to the source. One email a month, and your address goes nowhere else.
The latest
GENERATIVE · WRITES
AGENTIC · DOES
PHYSICAL · MOVES