There's a lot of hype in the world at the moment about how algorithms are taking over the world. "Algorithms" is a posh word for equations. There's a lot of hype in the world at the moment about how machine learning is taking over the world. "Machine learning" is one of those things that is … Continue reading Algorithms my arse
Category: Themes
Throughout my career it's struck me that technology has provided two forms of service: the dull stuff and the fun stuff. The dull stuff are the information systems, the databases, the business process automations. Generally the things that treat humans as little more than data and processing modules from whom information is to be extracted … Continue reading The art of play
It's been a funny day. I'm not sure what to think. As I wrote recently, I regard myself as a Londoner and a European. This morning it felt as if a part of my identity was removed from me. Things will work out. They always do. But it doesn't feel to be a world that … Continue reading Weeknote 294: bereft
Imagine the scenarios: The first, an errant piece of paper gets caught on a paperclip at the back of a bundle of documents. The documents are a contract to be signed as part of a negotiation. The errant piece of paper shows some workings that make parts of the deal transparent. The deal, as a … Continue reading Irreversible mistakes
A debate at this week's wonderful Names Not Numbers event has crystallised something that has been bouncing around my head for a while. I'm done with the idea of industry-specific software platforms. Here's why: 1. Platforms automate out humanity Part of yesterday's debate was agreeing where the boundaries of machine and human lie in our … Continue reading I’m done with the platform economy
I've been becoming increasingly bemused by the masterful example of technology marketing that is IBM Watson. It's a great (and rare) example of a tech company building a strong brand around a very esoteric set of concepts. Just about everything coming out of Big Blue seems to have the Watson brand slapped across it at … Continue reading Elementary, my dear Watson
I had to spend much of yesterday at a hospital in London after my eldest was refered by our GP (thankfully, it turns out, nothing particularly serious). Watching the machinations of the health service in action can be painful. There is paper everywhere. Vast stretches of waiting around are interspersed with short consultations with medical … Continue reading It’s going to happen anyway…
And so, some five years since I suggested it, Microsoft have at last bought LinkedIn. During my interview process for my ill-fated spell at the Redmond giant's UK branch, I was asked which Cloud-based company Microsoft should buy. My response was LinkedIn - for years I've regarded it as the only Enterprise Social Network, and it seemed … Continue reading The acquisition thing…
This week I have learned: I do, quite frankly, spend far too much of my time wondering what on earth is going on Listening to the Brexit debate is making me worry about the collective sanity of this country Start small. Scale what works. Repeat. Next Week: FOOTBALL!
“Can you just knock me up a couple of slides on that?” are words that I dread. If you've ever seen me present you'll know I'm of the “seemingly random series of images” school of PowerPoint, and I'm pretty certain that someone asking me for a couple of slides isn't looking for a collection of … Continue reading Knocking up PowerPoint
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