”It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about?” Henry David Thoreau
Previously at the Volcano Base, I’d been thinking about AI automation vs augmentation, and coming to the conclusion that, for many, it’s a false dichotomy. Since then, I’ve been tazzing about!
Mission Briefing
Tazzing about
Last week, I was tazzing about more than I usually do. If you’re unfamiliar with the term (which comes from my wife Cathy) “tazzing about” roughly equates to “going to a lot of different places and doing lots of stuff”. Not all of it was welcome tazzing.
Some was, though. I spent a day in London, working with the team at Deft on some exciting AI projects. There were some firework-style “oohs” and “aahs” while I demonstrated an n8n-enhanced AI system I made (classified, sorry). Then a curry on Brick Lane before going to Joy Machine 4.
The new, new wave of cinema. AI viewing party
Joy Machine was bonkers. A screening of AI-generated video using some of the latest models. The capabilities of Veo2, in particular, are quite something. What I appreciated most, was Omar’s perspective as an artist: these are tools that allow for unprecedented creative exploration - not a threat.
The following day’s tazzing about involved working out of a McDonald’s near a dual carriageway in Ashford, Kent, while waiting for a new tyre to be fixed on the car. So it’s not all glamour.
Another highlight this week was a very fast turnaround keynote talk for the team at Circle - the all-in-one community platform.
The all-in-one community platform
I was introduced to Sid (CEO) and Karthik (Chief of Staff) by Edifai on Wednesday evening and delivered a keynote to the company a few days later. I won’t go into detail but, yeah, it was about AI, naturally. One of the things I enjoy most about doing these talks is the Q&A at the end.
If you’re planning a wedding or birthday party, I’m accepting bookings. Clown suit optional.
Classified Intel
Some interesting stuff I discovered on my adventures.
Sesame released a conversational AI demo. This is a bonkers demo and you should try it out. You have a voice conversation with Maya or Miles and, honestly, their speech patterns are almost indistinguishable from a real human.
New from Google. Upload a dataset. Use natural language to describe your analysis objectives. Get results and collaborate with your team. No tech knowledge required.
One for the charity readers (hat tip to Gareth Fryer for telling me about it). This comprehensive AI playbook from Edd Baldry and Suzanne Begley is ideal for charities. It’s suitable for nonprofits at any stage of their AI journey, but if you’re leading “transformation” efforts at your charity, this would be good reading for your trustees.
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