Talking to Technology
One of the interesting threads running through digital disruption is our changing relationship with technology. As its “separateness” from our lives changes and evolves, we challenge our sense of self, and our ability (or need) to distinguish between what is human and what is not. Wearables, IoT devices in the home, personal robotic assistants, embeddable […]
Hey Dude, Where’s My Data?
Taking back control and ownership of your data has recently become very fashionable. Worrying about online data management has long been a concern. From privacy and security of your personal information and credit card details, to wondering who is reading your facebook posts. The massive shift in the last few years to online commerce and […]
Finding a Fit for Wearables
A couple of weeks ago my 16 year old son was given an Apple Watch by his uncle as a present. He was excited to open the box. Three days later he handed it back to me with a puzzled look on his face, saying “Dad….what’s it for?”. He really couldn’t understand it. He uses […]
Does WeWork Work?
In setting up the new INDEX team at the University of Exeter, we very much see ourselves as a startup. A startup inside a big corporation. That means several important concrete things to us. One of them is that we live and work like a startup. So inevitably we needed to deal with the question […]
Digital Transformation Means Navigating Both Near and Far
The trouble with digital transformation is that it is so easy to get carried away. There are many extraordinary technological developments to be investigated. From iPhones to dones. From biosensors to blockchain. From robots to cobots. As a result, many companies are investing wildly in pursuing futuristic solutions, incubating high-risk startups, and extravagantly experimenting with […]
The Dark Side of Entrepreneurship in a Digitally Disrupted World
One of the clear consequences of digital disruption is the rapid pace of change in the tech industry. New ideas emerge, are explored, and transformed in weeks. New companies are born, scale rapidly, and morph into existing commercial entities. This has many positive aspects…but also creates some huge pressures. The case of Autonomy’s purchase by […]
The Battle for “Digital” at the Heart of UK Government
The brave and inspired comments by Tom Loosemore at the Science and Technology Committee on their inquiry into digital government this week remind us that there is a battle raging over the future of digital transformation at the heart of the UK government. https://government.diginomica.com/2018/11/27/tom-loosemore-reminds-us-just-how-much-digital-government-is-flailing-in-the-uk/ As clearly described by Loosemore, what started off as a small, […]
The Impact of Lowering the Price of Prediction
What happens when the price of prediction falls through the floor? Old problems that were cast as computational problems become recast as predictive problems. Consider what happens when you drive a modern car and press the brake pedal. It is not about compressing hydraulic fluid through a pipe to push a piece of metal against […]
It’s All About Execution
A good idea is just a good idea. It only becomes useful when you do something with it. So execution is everything. That’s the mantra taken up by many recently, including the Mike Bracken-led government digital teams with their “Strategy is Delivery” bent. This message was brought home to me when I read today’s Guardian […]
