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
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
This week I have learned: - I'm really looking forward to a time when the news gets boring again... - I'm probably going to be waiting for a very long time Next week: adventures in virtual reality
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
This week I have learned: touchscreens are rubbish without apps designed for touchscreens; the "Android on Chromebook" thing is very significant boiling it all down, some stuff is just projects... fear of delegation is a powerful barrier to change I could do without a day spent in a hospital, but it makes for fabulous anthropology … Continue reading Weeknote 293: androids
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…
I've never really identified myself as either English or British. Through a fluke of circumstance I happened to be born in Northern Ireland, to a mum & dad who each had one Irish and one Londoner parent. During my teenage years I thought of myself as in some way Irish. I identified with some of … Continue reading A Londoner. A European.
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