Claude Opus 4 + RAG: Build an AI App with Embeddings & Knowledge Graphs | MVP Unplugged
Michael Washington walks through a real-world build of AI Story Builders, an open-source (MIT) AI writing app that combines structured story data, embeddings-based retrieval, and a knowledge-graph layer to improve consistency and reasoning.
Overview
In this MVP Unplugged episode, host Justin Garrett interviews Microsoft MVP Michael Washington about the design and implementation approach behind AI Story Builders.
What the episode covers
The problem: why models struggle to “just write the next chapter”
- The discussion focuses on why long-form fiction generation tends to drift (inconsistencies in timeline, locations, and character details).
- The proposed fix is to provide structured context and better retrieval rather than relying on a single prompt.
Structuring story data for better context
Michael describes breaking a story into explicit components such as:
- Timeline
- Locations
- Characters
This structure is then used as the basis for retrieval and for asking targeted questions about the story.
Embeddings + cosine similarity for retrieval
- The app uses text-file embeddings.
- Retrieval is driven by cosine similarity to select the most relevant context to feed into generation.
RAG as the core pattern
- The episode frames the implementation as a practical Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) approach.
- The goal is to move beyond “simple prompts” by grounding generation in retrieved story facts.
Knowledge graphs and tool calls
- Michael adds a knowledge-graph layer intended to let frontier models interrogate the story via tool calls.
- The episode highlights knowledge graphs as a way to enable deeper reasoning than traditional RAG alone.
Demo and distribution details mentioned
- Demo and install flow is discussed, including availability via the Microsoft Store.
- Import/export capabilities are mentioned, including exporting stories to PDF and Microsoft Word.
Resources mentioned
- AI Story Builders (official site): https://AIStoryBuilders.com
- AI Story Builders on GitHub: https://github.com/AIStoryBuilders/AIStoryBuilders
- Cytoscape.js: https://js.cytoscape.org
- GitHub Copilot: https://github.com/features/copilot
- Azure free trial: https://aka.ms/AzureFreeTrialYT