The Vector Podcast sat down with Christopher Lassiter for a special edition on how VA Rating Assistant came together: Navy Chief, working web developer, AWS and AI, and a hackathon that forced the pipeline to stand up in public.
Watch it on this page or with the Veterans Day interview on About.
What you will hear
Chris talks about:
- Turning a veteran paperwork problem into a cloud product instead of a slide deck
- Using AWS building blocks (Lambda, Textract, Bedrock, Cognito) so the path from upload to report can be traced
- What competing in the AWS Lambda Hackathon taught him about security and explainability
- Where AI helps veterans prepare, and where it must not pretend to be a rater, lawyer, or doctor
If you want the veteran-facing version of the same mission, watch Chris on The Dr. Smiley Show. For a short product demo, stay on the homepage How it works section.
When you are ready to practice the math yourself, open the VA rating calculator. Condition-specific background lives in the VA conditions hub.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not legal or medical advice. VA Rating Assistant is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from the Dr. Smiley Show interview?
What happened in the AWS hackathon?
Do I need an account to watch these interviews?
Is this a tutorial for using the app?
This information is for educational purposes only and is not legal or medical advice. Rating criteria are summarized from publicly available 38 CFR regulations. Consult a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) or VA-accredited attorney for advice on your specific claim.
See the product after you hear the origin story
Watch both interviews on About, then try the calculator or create an account when you are ready to upload records.