ChatGPT according to ChatGPT

It has been impossible to miss or ignore the hype about ChatGPT in any of my LinkedIn and Twitter feeds or business magazines. Clearly at the peak of a hype cycle, much has been written about the transformative effect generative AI language models will have on industries as diverse as search, law, book-writing and software development. It was therefore time to understand a bit better the inner workings of Chat GPT, OpenAI’s language model underpinning Microsoft’s new foray into Internet … Read more…

The Smart Products Pipeline – Using DevOps to roll out AI & ML applications

In the previous two posts in this series, we saw that created a connected product, is of itself no guarantee of creating a successful business stream. While connectivity can provide great customer experiences, this only leads to a sustainable product strategy if there is a continuous revenue stream behind the proposition, either directly from the customer, or indirectly through other parties. The key to generating this on-going revenue, and with it, long-term sustainability, is using the data collated by connected … Read more…

Finding the best Digital Business Model for IoT. A Quick Guide.

This is the first of a three-part series on how consumer products companies can extend from providing connected products to truly smart products, considering the impact on business models and organisational capabilities.  The past five years have seen an explosion in the growth of connected consumer products. This was first noticeable in the smart home space where start-ups in the US like Nest, Ring and Canary brought in a wave of app-controlled devices. These were stylish, design-led products, intended to appeal to … Read more…

How Google, Amazon and Spotify set up their teams for success

When leading a tech organisation, how do you determine what makes the difference between success and failure in a market that is rapidly changing? Determining where to focus in shaping an organisation and creating the right culture is clearly one of the key challenges of being a leader. In this post, I will look at how some of the leading tech companies set up their development organisations to deliver innovation and keep on top of a fast-moving world. Never has the adage that you … Read more…

What is driving the self-driving car craze?

By all accounts, one of the most talked-about topics at this year’s Consumer Electronics jamboree in Las Vegas was self-driving cars, currently one of the most hyped of the tech scene. Self-driving cars offer the promise of a vision of the future that has  been imagined for decades. There isn’t a single major auto manufacturer who has not got onto the bandwagon, for fear of being left behind. This is resulting in a complex web of relationships and partnerships between … Read more…

Self-Driving Cars – Coming sooner than we think?

The future of the car, taking on latest developments in electric vehicles and self-driving technology was the topic of the rather immodestly titled “Great Debate” at the University of Reading held last month. As the host candidly admitted, the organising committee was undecided as to whether to discuss electric vehicles or self-driving cars, and so fudged it. In the end, much of the discussion focused on the impact of autonomous cars. Are electric cars really ready for mass-market? The first couple of … Read more…

Why history matters. Even to tech leaders

When looking at the challenges that the fast-moving tech landscape throws up, it is often tempting to think that these problems are new to the 21st century and consequently need completely novel approaches. While the mechanics, business process and technologies may well be new, the underlying problem is very likely to be one that has been around for centuries. Just as the Roman Republic can provide a casebook of the entire gamut of political mechanations and intrigue, similarly, history books can provide invaluable advice on … Read more…

The importance of Strategic Agility

With agile software methodologies now firmly in the mainstream, it is difficult to find a software development organisation that does not claim to follow agile principles to at least some extent. For this reason, much of the discussion in agile and lean development conferences is now shifting to its applicability in the wider business world. In this post, I have a look at some of the business challenges that can be addressed through adopting strategic agility, and make some suggestions that may help … Read more…

Happenings in the World of Artificial Intelligence

While much of the tech media have been focusing on the goings on at the Mobile World Congress, some of the more interesting stories of the week are to be found elsewhere. While the differences between this year’s smartphones and last year’s models are becoming increasingly difficult to discern, the same is not true for the goings on in the world of Artificial Intelligence. Already a topic of a blog post of mine a short time ago, there have been some particularly … Read more…

What’s behind Musk’s OpenAI Initiative?

For my first blog post of 2016, I thought it time to take a cursory look at OpenAI, the non-for-profit organisation being set up by serial entrepreneur Elon Musk. This aims to provide a non-commercial basis for furthering research into Artificial Intelligence, publishing and widely disseminating the output of research carried. To this end, $1 billion worth of funding has been pledged (or ‘donated’) by a number of Silicon Valley luminaries, including PayPal’s Peter Thiel and Y Combinator’s Sam Altman. Silicon Valley … Read more…

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