Embracing the AI future

Date:
Fri, 08 Aug 2025 14:15:56 +0000

Description:
The true AI revolution lies in how people live, learn, and grow.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

In 1967, I began my first job working with computers. The company was presciently named International Data Highways (IDH), the brainchild of my remarkable mentor, Charlie Ross. Even in the infancy of computing, Charlie
was pushing the boundaries of what computer science could achieve. He envisioned a world where financial and business information would be
instantly accessible via terminal. His foresight was extraordinary,
especially considering the limitations of the time.

Charlie was a visionary, driven by possibilities invisible to others but
clear as day to him. He created an environment where curiosity was expected and boldness rewarded. It was a heady environment for a 19-year-old to be thrown intoand Charlie believed in throwing people in the deep end. He wanted his team to be brave, empowered, and unafraid to fail. This mindset was radical in 1967 Britain, where conformity and rigid corporate hierarchies ruled.

That early baptism by fire prepared me for the revolutionary journey
computers would take over the next half-century. Little did I know that I had joined the most transformative industry the world had ever seen. The rise and fall of giants

The first computer I worked on was the Sperry Univac 418a massive, complex machine with a 24-bit word structure and a 12-bit addressing mechanism. It used a storage device known as a FastRand drum, which weighed two and a half tons and could store a mind-bending 100 megabytes of data . In those days,
IBM dominated the industry with batch processing, while Sperry and others pushed the frontier of real-time computing.

IBMs market share in the early 1970s was nearly 80% of the global computing market. But by the 1990s, the once-mighty firm teetered on the edge of collapse. Agile, innovative players like Digital Equipment Corporation and Data General had emerged, and IBMs fall was swift and brutal. Watching this unfold in real time impressed upon me one core truth: this is an industry where today's titan is tomorrows toast.

Much of this volatility can be traced to Moores Law. In 1965, Gordon Moore predicted that the speed and capacity of transistors would double every 1824 months. This exponential growth would continue to redefine the limits of possibilitynot just in computing power but in how quickly innovation itself could accelerate. Two years after Moores prediction, I entered the industry. The rest is historyand were still writing it. From constraints to catalysts

The innovations of the past five decadesmainframes, PCs , the internet,
mobile deviceswere the hors doeuvres. What we are now witnessing with AI is the main course. The difference lies not just in power, but in liberation.
For most of my career, progress was constrained by the lack of computing power, limited storage, and slow processing speeds. Cloud computing , distributed architecture, and global broadband have obliterated those limits.

Today, we operate in a world of universal access. Storage is cheap and nearly infinite. Computing power is on demand. Barriers are gone. And with that, we have opened a new doorone that leads not to incremental improvement, but to a new industrial revolution.

This is not a wave. Its a tsunami.

Those sitting comfortably on the beach, sipping tea and admiring the view,
are about to be swept away. Those who grab a surfboard and paddle out to meet the surge head-on will experience the ride of a lifetime. AI: the great equalizer

Perhaps the most stunning transformation AI brings is the democratization of knowledge. For centuries, information was locked behind paywallsacademic, professional, institutional. In some industries, guild-like structures
guarded specialized knowledge jealously. AI changes that. It is the ultimate key, unlocking access for anyone with a connection and curiosity.

Professional hierarchies will flatten. Management will face new levels of transparency and accountability thanks to real-time analytics. Strategic decisions once made in echo chambers will now be data-informed and challengeable.

This will not be a time for the timid. It will favor the bold, the agile, the open-minded. Yet the true revolution lies not in how companies operatebut in how people live, learn, and grow. The coming reinvention of education

Education may be the sector most radically transformed by AI. For too long, students have been shuffled through one-size-fits-all classrooms, forced to memorize facts, and judged by standardized exams. AI opens the door to personalized, adaptive learningcustomized in real time to each students strengths, weaknesses, and interests.

Imagine a system where students are assessed continuously through participation and engagement, not just snapshots on test days. AI can
identify knowledge gaps and tailor content dynamicallyfavoring subjects that spark passion, curiosity, and intrinsic motivation. Students will no longer
be treated as production units that must progress at the same pace. They will be treated as individuals.

Parents will no longer need to buy homes in expensive school districts to access quality education. World-class learning will be accessible to
everyone, everywhere. Finally, education will be democratizedjust as
knowledge is.

Compare this to Chinas Gaokao, where every high school student takes a life-determining university entrance exam on the same day in June. Should a teenagers future be determined by two days of testingor by twelve years of continuous growth and learning? AI makes that question more than rhetorical. It makes a new model possible. Unleashing human creativity

Beyond education, AI promises to unlock a renaissance of human creativity. By automating repetitive and menial tasks, it will free the mind to focus on imagination, problem-solving, and innovation. AI will allow people to color outside the lines againsomething that corporate culture and standardized education often suppress.

Innovation will no longer come just from elite R&D labs or top universities. It will come from a billion creative minds newly empowered. AI will not just be a tool of efficiencyit will be a force of liberation. Conclusion: embrace the future

Looking back on my 57-year journeyfrom machine code to machine learningIm reminded of how much has changed, and yet, how many principles remain the same. Vision, courage, curiosity, and resilience remain the essential traits of any innovator.

The tools may change. The pace will accelerate. But the opportunityfor
impact, for growth, for transformationhas never been greater. We stand at the edge of something vast. The surf is up and the surfboards are ready.

Lets enjoy the ride.

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