Sidecar Blog

Innovation

5 min read

Beyond Chat: Why AI Needs a New Interface, Platform, and Business Model

Sidecar Team: May 1, 2026 11:24:01 AM

To understand the current state of artificial intelligence, one must look back at the history of computing. We often feel as though we are living in...

Artificial Intelligence Innovation

A minimalist vector illustration of a person in a full grey wetsuit, seen from behind, sitting cross-legged on a yellow and orange striped surfboard. The surfer is looking out over a calm, geometric-style, teal and grey ocean at a gentle, rolling wave on the horizon. The sky above is a soft cream and peach gradient, conveying a sense of serene anticipation.

5 min read

The 17-Year Overnight Success: A Framework for Spotting What's Next

Mallory Mejias: Apr 28, 2026 9:15:00 AM

Here's a story you may have heard a version of: a small team launches a free app in the App Store. Two weeks later, Apple calls — unannounced,...

Strategy Innovation Trend Spotting

Sidecar Sync Episode episode 131 cover featuring Adam Cheyer, Noah Cheyer, and Mallory Mejias

41 min read

How Siri’s Co-Creator Predicts the Next AI Wave with Adam & Noah Cheyer | [Sidecar Sync Episode 131]

Mallory Mejias: Apr 28, 2026 8:54:02 AM

Summary: What happens when you put a Siri co-creator and longtime AI pioneer together with a next-generation events strategist? Adam...

Events Management Sidecar Sync Podcast Leadership Innovation AI Products & Services

A stylized, isometric vector illustration of an open charcoal gray filing cabinet drawer with a gold handle and label holder. Inside, a row of index cards with alphabetized tabs (A-G) in alternating sage green, peach, and teal recedes. One single, prominent coral-pink card stands out, raised significantly higher than the others in the center. The background is a clean, flat cream color.

5 min read

What's Coming for Association Knowledge Bases: Faster, Smarter, More Accurate

Mallory Mejias: Apr 23, 2026 12:25:40 PM

More associations are building AI-powered knowledge assistants every month. The pitch is compelling: members get instant answers drawn from your...

AI Models Innovation Model compression RAG

A minimalist, flat design illustration showing five simplified, colorful human figures in a running sequence against a textured cream background. The first (orange) and last (yellow) figures are holding glowing torches, while the three middle figures (peach, light teal, dark green) run with empty hands.

4 min read

Why Smart Associations Don't Use One AI Model. They Use Five.

Mallory Mejias: Apr 21, 2026 6:30:01 AM

Most AI conversations in associations start with the same question: which model should we use? Claude or ChatGPT? Gemini or something open-source?...

AI Models Innovation

An illustrative vector drawing of a vintage steam train with an orange-red locomotive and a very long line of alternating colored (yellow, green, pink) freight cars. The train travels along a single, winding track that curves up and over large, rolling, sage-green hills, receding into the distance against a plain, light beige sky. Greenish-gray steam billows from the locomotive's stack.

4 min read

The Little Models That Could: How AI Got 200x Cheaper in Three Years

Mallory Mejias: Apr 20, 2026 6:30:00 AM

In early 2023, if you wanted access to the smartest AI available, you paid about $30 per million tokens to use GPT-4. It was expensive, it lived in...

AI Models Innovation Model compression

A minimalist illustration of an empty 24/7 hotel front desk at night, with brochures, a bell, a laptop, a lamp, and a star-filled window.

7 min read

Your Members' Expectations Are Being Set by Amazon, Not Your Peers

Mallory Mejias: Mar 25, 2026 6:30:00 AM

Your members don't compare your website to other association websites. They compare it to every other digital experience they have in a day —...

Member Services Innovation Experimentation

A table-top comparison of two conceptual sketches for an AI audio agent. On the left, a crumpled napkin shows a rough hand-drawn flowchart. On the right, a neat engineering blueprint transforms the sketch into a technical, labeled architectural diagram of deep neural networks and NLP engines.

6 min read

From Hackathon to Live Product in 60 Days: A Playbook for Association AI Experiments

Mallory Mejias: Mar 24, 2026 6:30:00 AM

In late January, a group of 14 people gathered at a beach house in Florida for six days. They worked 16 to 18 hour days, mostly self-directed, with...

AI Agents Member Services Innovation AI Audio

Flat illustration of a small charcoal robot with sage accents sitting at a sage-green desk on its first day, reviewing documents labeled “How We Work” beside a key and notebook, with a simple org chart pinned on a cork board behind it.

5 min read

Your Next Team Member Might Not Be Human: What Associations Need to Know About AI Agents

Mallory Mejias: Mar 10, 2026 12:10:29 PM

For a long time, the conversation around AI in associations has been about tools — things you ask, things that respond, things that complete a task...

AI Agents Innovation

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