June was hard. We need to move houses (yes, again!), and spent a lot of time trying to find and, then, secure, a new place to move into. But, unfortunately, that fell through at the end of the month. So we are back to square one… except with a lot more stress. I also picked … Continue reading June 2024 round-up
The TFI framework: A simple socio-technical lens to assess AI initiatives
Last week, a manager reached out to me for advice on thinking through a technology project. They were being promised big efficiency gains from adopting a specific AI-based solution, but they are also committed to responsible AI adoption, and wanted a way of looking at this technology adoption decision beyond simple time or cost saving … Continue reading The TFI framework: A simple socio-technical lens to assess AI initiatives
May 2024 round-up
I kicked off the month with May Day celebrations in Oxford. It’s something that I have been wanting to do since moving to Oxford, but never managed to, for one thing or another. But with the youngest now 16 and the opportunity to join the celebrations from St Hilda’s College’s new tower (courtesy of the eldest), … Continue reading May 2024 round-up
Finding the human in an AI world
You might have seen this graph, already. It depicts an explosion in the use of the term “delving into” in academic papers and is used as evidence that authors are writing academic papers with LLMs. Image source Similar messages are flying online, pointing to other words overused by AI such as intricate, complexity, intersection, nuanced or stakeholders. … Continue reading Finding the human in an AI world
AI may improve individual performance, but it doesn’t beat the wisdom of crowds
Microsoft’s 2024 Work Trend Index shows that up to 75% of knowledge workers are using generative AI, even though more than half are reluctant to admit that they do so. The vast majority even use their own technology: Image source Power users – those who use AI extensively – say that using AI tools:- makes their workload … Continue reading AI may improve individual performance, but it doesn’t beat the wisdom of crowds
New paper: Content Creators at a Crossroads with Decentralised Social Media
Social media platforms and content creators benefit each other: social media platforms depend on the content made by creators, while creators rely on these platforms to share their content, expand their audience, and… make money. However, some content creators argue that mainstream, centralised social media (CSM) platforms like Facebook or Twitter have too much power … Continue reading New paper: Content Creators at a Crossroads with Decentralised Social Media
April 2024 round-up
A busy month, which included a lot of fun moments. I had a lovely time at the talk with Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry. The tickets for the talk were a lovely Mother’s Day present from the-child-formerly-known-as-the-teen. I also accompanied the kiddo to golf, and had a walk around backstage at a theatre, … Continue reading April 2024 round-up
LLMs need to be more kale
A couple of weeks ago, Gary Marcus’s newsletter flagged a company (Inqwire) that had a statement on their frontpage, stating that they do not use LLMs*, and adding that they do not pretend to be using humans when they use chatbots. Inqwire’s positioning is the complete opposite of pseudo-AI, in which companies sell certain services (e.g., … Continue reading LLMs need to be more kale
Researching and shaping the future of AI-Powered Service Interactions
Last month, I had the honour of delivering a keynote talk, at the Digital Marketing Colloquium, on the topic of “Researching and shaping the future of AI-Powered Service Interactions”. I explored the challenges and opportunities of doing research in this field, driven by a question that a colleague asked me back in 2018, and which has informed … Continue reading Researching and shaping the future of AI-Powered Service Interactions
The AI Dancefloor revisited: adoption of Generative AI
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (AZ) shared insights from interviews and surveys that they conducted with Fortune 500 companies about adoption of Generative AI. While we need to treat the AZ findings with care, because the company did not disclose details of the methodology and has vested interests in the information shared, the article still provides … Continue reading The AI Dancefloor revisited: adoption of Generative AI