Blog distinguishing between active and passive use of AI - active helps you think and learn. Passive outsources your thinking.

Agentic AI systems are no longer science fiction. They're here, they're capable, and they're rapidly being deployed across industries. But before you rush to implement them, there's a reality check we need to have: the challenges are real, and they're significant. Let me walk you through the seven critical problems that organizations are grappling with right now. 1. Reliability & Control: The "Will It Behave?" Problem Agentic systems: they can go off the rails in ways traditi

If you've been using ChatGPT or Claude as just a fancy search engine, you're only scratching the surface. Understanding the four distinct modes of working with generative AI can fundamentally transform how you approach problems, create content, and amplify your capabilities. Let me walk you through each mode, when to use them, and how to get the most value from each approach. Mode 1: Advanced Search Tool This is where most people start, and it's a natural entry point. You hav

Inspired by a speech I gave recently at Oxford University I started thinking about the tradeoff between humans being dependent on AI and humans being enhanced by AI. Which will it be?

Using AI as a thought partner to stretch your own thinking I've seen a few posts on LinkedIn recently suggesting that AI tools will make us intellectually lazy and diminish our critical thinking abilities. This perspective, while understandable, oversimplifies a complex relationship. The impact of AI on our cognitive processes isn't predetermined—it depends entirely on how we choose to engage with these tools. Rather than replacing thinking, AI can enhance it when used though

Thoughts on how you build an AI-first culture in an organisation. Critical challenge initially is simply getting people to use AI.

Traditional approaches to AI education are becoming obsolete almost as quickly as they're implemented. By the time comprehensive training materials are developed, distributed, and absorbed, the AI landscape has already shifted dramatically.   The solution? Stop treating AI education like a fixed curriculum and start fostering a culture of active experimentation.   Organisations that thrive in the AI era won't be those with the most structured training programmes but those tha

The question of whether AI can be creative touches on fundamental aspects of both human cognition and artificial intelligence. As we witness AI systems generating art, composing music, and writing poetry, the boundary between mechanical computation and genuine creativity becomes increasingly blurred.   At its core, creativity involves generating novel and valuable ideas or artifacts. Traditional arguments against AI creativity often cite the lack of consciousness, emotional d

An interesting dilemma is emerging in the AI literature. It’s clear that AI can deliver significant productivity gains. Studies show that knowledge workers experience research productivity gains of around 40%. An MIT study by Aidan Toner-Rodgers (2024) shows AI-assisted material scientists discovered 44% more materials, leading to a 39% increase in patent filings and a 17% rise in downstream product innovation. While Novy-Marx and Velikov (2025), showed how AI could be used t