I Programmed an AI in 6502 Assembly - It Worked

In 1975 the 6502 processed 8-bit values through memory and control flow. A Claude Code skill now uses the same mnemonics to process forge tickets through triage loops. Paul Newell · Apr 2026 · 8 min read I'll be honest, this started as a joke. I wanted to see if I could get Claude Code to understand 6502 assembly language. The 6502 powered the Apple II, the Commodore 64, the BBC Micro, the NES. It had 56 opcodes, 64KB of address space and absolutely no business anywhere near a large language mod