Musings
This is an archive of automation posts like the ones on the homepage. In each post, I share brief thoughts about a current automation or AI topic. I focus on insights that may be at odds with popular opinion. There are plenty of high-quality sources for automation news. My goal is not to cover every topic. My goal is to surface ideas you may not find elsewhere.
Misunderstood: AI’s Adoption Problem
The biggest AI challenge isn’t the technology — it’s getting people to use it.
AI is Dead; Long Live AI!
What does DeepSeek-R1 mean for the AI industry? Let’s calm down for a minute and look at the facts (or at least what we know so far).
I Find Your Lack of Questions Disturbing
Why don’t AI models ask more questions, and what might that mean for the future of AGI?
What’s Wrong with Impact Investing — and How AI Can Make It Right
Why are our portfolios out of sync with our priorities, and how might AI bridge the gap?
Power Hungry: Manufacturing Intellectual Capital
One thousand four hundred terawatt-hours (TWh). That’s a massive amount of energy. Should we be worried about power-hungry AI?
The Rotten Tomatoes of Everything: AI and the Pursuit of Objective Reality
How does AI fit into the story of human progress, and what can Rotten Tomatoes tell us about the future?
AI Bias: Intelligence Without Imagination
Why are we struggling to mitigate AI bias? Maybe it’s because we’re focused on the wrong problem.
Look Who’s Talking: Speech as a Modality
Adding speech as a modality to large language models is a bigger deal than most people realize.
The Interns: AI in the Workplace
Why are large organizations struggling to adopt the latest AI technologies? Perhaps AI has a lower tolerance for uninspiring managers.
Gathering Dust: Why Hasn’t VR Taken Off?
I don’t think we’re having the right conversations about VR. The “killer features” have yet to be fully discovered.
Paper Money: The OG Crypto
Is crypto the future of money? Perhaps we can learn something from the money of the past.
AI Safety: Alignment Is Not Enough
The commotion at OpenAI thrust the topic of AI safety into the spotlight. Engaging in philosophical debate over guardrails, bias, and human extinction is one thing. It’s quite another to nearly dismantle a 700+ person organization valued at almost $100 billion.
Bridging the Achievement Gap with AI
Today, more than 50 million American children are sitting in K-12 classrooms. Most of them aren’t learning about the technologies that will have the most significant impact on their lives.
Data Assets: Castles in the Air
Firms are investing billions of dollars in data assets. Is there value in tabular data, or are companies caught in a speculative bubble?
Time: The Final Frontier?
GenAI has experts moving up their predictions for when we could achieve AGI. If we fail, it might be a matter of “time.”
Footnote 189: A Copyright Story
On the first page of my book, Artificially Human, you’ll find an attestation: These words were written by me, a human. Machines helped with the footnotes.
Uniquely Human: Reaching Our Full Potential
Think of the smartest person you know. What makes them more intelligent than the other people in your life? Do they have a photographic memory? Are they unbelievably creative? Can they perform complex calculations in their head? What makes that person so unique?
Thinking Slow: Artificial Reasoning
The divide between human and machine intelligence is narrowing faster than we can invent stories to assert our supremacy.
Fighting Shadows
Mechanical minds are making their debut on the world stage. Artificial intelligence, previously kept under wraps like Frankenstein’s monster, has entered popular culture. This is why I believe fighting the AI of today is a losing proposition.