AI Agents. Open Models.Real Problems.Let's Talk

Exploring AI, building with AI agents or open models, or solving a real technical challenge? Whether you're an individual, a team, or an organization, book a discovery call and we'll work through it together.

WHAT PEOPLE SAY AFTER A SESSION

“I had a very positive experience speaking with Mr. Melvin. He was nice, cheerful, and very encouraging throughout the conversation.”

300+trained

50+mentees

Fractional CAIO and
AI Engineering Services

Chief AI Officer & Engineer

Based in Singapore, Southeast Asia's AI hub · Clients worldwide

I provide executive AI advisory/strategy and AI engineering services on a per-need basis.

Many leadership teams know AI is critical, but they are not ready for a full-time hire. They need a senior engineer-executive in the loop who can look at the business strategy and write the code. Working from Singapore, the region's AI innovation hub, I help companies start and steer their AI journey, focusing on priorities, guardrails, buy-vs-build decisions, and shipping real systems, not slide decks.

Capabilities & Focus

Executive AI Strategy: Designing high-ROI roadmaps, setting data guardrails, and navigating compliance.
Hands-on Implementation: Coding and deploying autonomous AI Agents, custom LLM pipelines, and automation workflows.
On-Prem & Open-Source: Specializing in local model architectures that protect proprietary company data.

Start here

Let's talk before you hire.

One hour as Fractional CAIO. We review your AI goals, pressure-test your plan or stack, and lock clear next steps. Bring a short company overview and the decision that's stuck. Prefer to ask questions first? LinkedIn is open.

Book a CAIO advise call Ask questions on LinkedIn Explore CAIO & AI Engineering

Personal AI Agent Setup

Personal AI Agent Setup Service

I set up Hermes, an open-source personal AI agent with its own memory that learns new skills and adapts to you, on the computer you already own. One agent set up directly, or several managed with GAIA, my setup tool. You choose.

Hermes is the agent: it works for you, not just answers questions
GAIA is optional: my tool for running multiple private agents on one computer
Your data stays on your machine, not on someone else's servers
Hands-on setup call — questions first? Message me on LinkedIn

Start here

Your own AI, on your computer.

A hands-on setup call. Hermes on the machine you already own — one agent, or several with GAIA. Your data stays yours. Prefer to ask questions first? LinkedIn is open.

Book a setup call Ask questions on LinkedIn See the Setup Service

Wherever you are with AI, there's a call for you

Every session is 1-on-1 and tailored to you. Book 15, 30, or 60 minutes, whatever your question needs. No question is too small: if it's about AI, it's on the table.

Personal AI

New to AI? Perfect, start here. I'll help you set up your own AI agent for everyday life: notes, research, planning, right inside the chat apps you already use.

See the Setup Service

AI at Work

Learn to get real work done faster with AI: simple tools and workflows you can start using the same day, whatever your job is.

Talk about AI at work

Build & Integrate

Building a product? Get a second brain on what to build, how to add AI to it, and how to go from idea to something real.

Talk through your build

Updated August 19, 2026

Latest AI news for builders and leaders

Fresh artificial intelligence news, model releases, AI agent updates, research, and enterprise AI announcements curated from primary sources.

View all AI news

SecurityAug 19, 2026

OpenAI offers Zero Data Retention for frontier models, previews Private Safety Processing

OpenAI announced (Aug 19) Zero Data Retention for eligible frontier-model API deployments: prompts and responses are not retained after a request, personnel cannot review customer content, and enterprise data is not used for training unless customers opt in. The company also previewed Private Safety Processing—automated pattern detection across related interactions that returns narrow risk signals without exposing underlying content to OpenAI staff—with content staying on customer-controlled infrastructure or OpenAI storage encrypted under customer-held keys. Early-customer testing is underway ahead of a broader rollout and technical white paper planned for September; consumer ChatGPT Free/Plus/Go/Pro plans are unchanged. Distinct from prior ZDR docs and European data-residency posts.

Source: OpenAIRead source

EnterpriseAug 19, 2026

Google offers college students one year of Gemini AI Pro or Plus free

Google said (Aug 19) eligible college students worldwide can claim 12 months of a Google AI plan at no cost for Back to School 2026: U.S. students get Google AI Pro (valued at $19.99/mo) with 4x Gemini usage limits, Gemini Spark, Gemini in Gmail/Docs, 5 TB storage, and Google Health Premium; students outside the U.S. (140+ markets) get Google AI Plus with Gemini Omni, 2x limits, and 400 GB storage. A new Gemini student hub, study notebooks with diagnostic quizzes, interactive 3D visualizations, and Deep Research inside Gemini Live roll out to all Gemini app users; redeem by Dec 31, 2026 with SheerID verification. Distinct from prior 2025 student-offer campaigns and Classroom teacher tools.

Source: GoogleRead source

AgentsAug 18, 2026

Claude can send Gmail and manage Drive files with approval-first write tools

Anthropic expanded Google Workspace connectors (Aug 18) so Claude on paid plans can send, reply to, and forward Gmail and share, move, or trash Google Drive files—moving beyond search/read/draft. Per-action human approval is the default for those writes; Team and Enterprise owners decide whether members may skip confirmation. Users connect Gmail or Drive from the connectors menu; Workspace tenants may need admins to trust Claude under third-party API controls. Distinct from the July Microsoft 365 write-tools launch and from Claude Cowork web/mobile.

Source: Anthropic Help CenterRead source

Meet Your Mentor

25+yrs

300+trained

Book an AI Q&A Call Connect on LinkedIn

Melvin Vivas

Engineer, mentor, and your friendly guide to AI

I help everyday people, professionals, and founders make sense of AI, and no question is too basic. Most of my mentees started exactly where you are now.

Behind that is 25 years of engineering across banking, fintech, and enterprise. These days it's hands-on work building AI apps and running my own daily life on a personal AI agent.

Whether you're a student, a working professional, a leader, or a founder, you'll get someone who's done the work and explains it in plain language.

Senior roles at Standard Chartered Bank & Ohmyhome (Nasdaq)

Built AI Dream Photo, an AI photo app used by real customers

Building aibackends.com, free open-source AI tools for developers

Building skillsbento.com, an AI Agent Skills marketplace

Speaker at NTU Singapore, PSIA, and DICT Philippines

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) Open Mentoring: Connecting Minds

Live & unscripted

Watch my past livestreams

The easiest way to get a feel for how I explain things: watch me build with AI, live. No edits, no script, mistakes and all.

Let's explore ChatGPT / OpenAI APIs

A relaxed walk through the OpenAI platform and APIs, explained from scratch.

Build a React Native ChatGPT app with Cursor, OpenAI, and Expo

A full app built live, from empty folder to working AI chat on a phone.

Enrich your Life and Work with AI

A talk on bringing AI into your everyday life and work, in plain language.

Watch my NTU Singapore workshop demo More livestreams on YouTube

My personal AI

What I actually ask my AI

These are real conversations with my personal AI agent lately:

“Every hour during trading hours, remind me about my stock investments”“Read these screenshots from my kids' school app and remind me of the deadlines”“What happened at the F1 British Grand Prix?”“Any Wimbledon updates?”“Find me a decent monitor to replace my old one”“What Korean drama should I watch next?”“Give me some non-software business ideas”“Summarize this video posted on X”“Make me a video”

Notice anything? None of it is about coding. My AI is a personal agent that helps me run everyday life. You can have one too. I'll set up Hermes on your computer (GAIA is optional if you want multiple agents), around your own routines.

Get your own personal agent Book a call

Invited to speak by these organizations