Operation Monorail
The offer is taking shape.
Phil Dearson
Idealistic skeptic and experienced digital leader, based in the UK.
Fear is the mind killer
Starting to document my crash-and-burn.
Automating with your tone-of-voice
Using generative AI without sounding like a robot.
Five Years
What to expect over the next five years.
Into the mind garden
Your brain is wired to adapt. So let it.
AI search needs your data
Manual search can sometimes find better solutions that AI misses, though most people wouldn’t notice or care.
Let AI inform your creativity
If you're feeling frustrated by AI's shortcomings, you might be expecting too much from it.
Too many transcription agents
Getting overwhelmed by all the AI transcription agents joining your meetings? You're not alone.
The problem with AI is us
While AI's potential seems boundless, human nature and societal structures often stand in the way of its most ambitious proposals.
Basic AI training
Basic AI training can help when trying to coordinate the use of AI tools across and between teams.
AI made me obsolete
The only way to stay in the game is to reinvent yourself repeatedly.
UX tips for chatbot trust
While experimenting with Formless, I learned a few things about chatbot UX and trust.
Getting started with automation
Want to reduce your workload and stress by automating some tasks? Find out how to get started.
Evergreen AI principles
In the trough of disillusionment, general negativity is to be expected. The genie is out of the bottle so we should get on with adapting to it.
Illuminating the dark forest
Could indieweb practices bring some illumination from the cozy web to the corporate dark forest?
How to become obsolete
People are worried about becoming obsolete. They want to know what to do to prevent that eventuality. It can be useful to think about a problem in reverse.
Processing for retrieval
Having previously covered the Capture part of the CPR approach, now we look at Processing and Retrieval
Frictionless capture
Techniques for capturing useful stuff in your personal database or second brain.
Your personal database
PKM enthusiasts sometimes refer to personal databases as their second brain. Today, mine is souped-up with AI to allow for additional laziness.
CPR for your mind
Leaders that don't start adopting "clever-lazy" technologies are unlikely to be around in a few years. So I'll be explaining some of the things I've found that work, and some of the pitfalls to watch out for.
It's not game-changing if the game doesn't change
When the developers of new technology (and, yes, I'm thinking mainly about AI models here) claim their work is "game-changing", I wonder "Well, is it really?"
Threads - will we never learn
Please don't get excited by Meta's new Twitter competitor Threads. It's the same old unethical, exploitative BS wrapped up in a new skin.
The age of synthetic computing
What sets Synthetic Computing apart is its ability to understand context and establish connections across domains.
Priorities for a new world
With so many options, and such wide-ranging change across so many functions, how can you possibly prioritise?
Remembering magic and logic
For charities, the main trouble with the old-school procurement approach is that it risks excluding the very people that can help you the most.
Getting started with generative AI for charities on a budget
In this article, we will explore some of the ways you can begin to create generative AI content without breaking the bank.
How to predict the future
Projected futures based on the current state of things, or how things have been in the recent past, are poor predictors of the actual future. Randomness shouldn't be underestimated.
Successful digital projects
The role leaders play in getting successful digital projects going - how to create the right environment, build the right teams, and select the right partners.
Forget your digital strategy - do this instead
An 8 step process for incorporating digital into your existing strategy.
Transformation with a small t
Often, a small, bottom-up approach can be more effective than a mandate from on-high.
Your organisation exists to serve people's needs
It’s easy to lose sight of the point of having an organisation in the first place.
Digital operations on a budget
I've been spending time looking at what you can do to upgrade your digital operations if you're on a shoestring budget.
The fediverse - social media vs social contract
The fediverse is a collection of thousands of independent social media servers that communicate with each other seamlessly, operating like a single social network.
Remote collaboration
As someone who's successfully worked remotely for the last 8 years or so, if there is poor collaboration or creativity, it's down to the business approach rather than the physical location of the participants.
Riding out the clusterfuck
The socio-economic clusterfuck has us all taking cover under the metaphorical table as the metaphorical nukes go off.
Coping with apocalypse fatigue
There’s been so much bad news for such a long time, with no clear way to make things better, it’s easy to get worn out by it all.
What should you automate?
Automation operates on tasks, not entire jobs.
Innovation - it's economics all the way down
Innovation occurs in the dizzying interplay of forces across all levels of society.
Decision models and trust
I’m interested in why decision models are important, now and in the unfolding future.
A neo-commonwealth
The internet has started to seem increasingly centralised, with power and control resting in the hands of a few organisations - corporate and governmental.
In the future, who wants advertising?
In the future, who wants advertising?
Microbes and the future of work
I like to think of businesses as organisms. It can sometimes make complex change easier to grasp.
On artificial reality
Welcome to this content item.
Blockchain - seizing the means of transaction
The blockchain enables decentralised, programmatic authentication of a database transaction, requiring no intermediary.
Trace Bodies - the metamorphosis of digital identity
Today, on the internet, everybody knows you’re a dog.
Mesh - what happens if you connect everything?
The Mesh is coming. It will be chaotic as there are no common standards such as those that permit the internet to operate.