#50: What matters next? AI, Strategy, and Uncertainty

Episode 50 of The Only Constant is out now!! What a milestone! Incredibly proud to have come this far, and look forward to many more inspiring conversations on the show in the future. Thank you to all listeners for listening in this far ??

What matters next? For the 50th episode I am extremely happy to present to you a really special episode with a unique thought leader: Kate O'Neill. Is regulation just a bad thing? Can we really be future proof? Is this a bubble, or are we stuck in the past? These topics and so many more a covered in a real blast of an episode.

Read more about Kate O'Neill at the bottom of this newsletter.

As always, I am very happy that we once again managed to make an episode that explores more than it explains ??

Listen to the episode here:

Apple: The Only Constant on Apple Podcasts

Spotify: The Only Constant | Podcast on Spotify

Spreaker: The Only Constant (spreaker.com)

What made this episode special to me?:

Funny thing is, this episode was arranged very quickly. I think we had like 5 days from agreeing to do the episode to recording. Am I always that unprepared? No - most episodes are planned weeks and months in advance. But rescheduling issues meant I did not have the episode 50 guest I had planned, and suddenly I needed to move fast. And then I realised that Kate had just put out her new book, and that there could be some great synergies in us joining forces for this episode. So, there I went, deep dive in her new book, quick scanning of info and draw up of talking points for our conversation. Funny thing is, during the episode, I mention she is from Canada...... and this was simply because my quick info scanning had given me a wrong input. Google on my phone showed pictures of Kate and her books, but the text was about a "Chuck" O'Neill from Toronto... so, somehow Toronto stuck in my mind as I read along in her book. HA! Never trust the algorithm!

But beyond that minor mistake, Kate simply blew me away in the episode. Her energy, her wit and her humor is simply astonishing. It is rareto meet people, who at once drives such high prescence and energy levels while at the same time delivering sharp, concise, to-the-point messages even when asked outside of their comfort zone. And this is why I am happy that I am able, with this episode, to bring Kate to all of you.

My key post-recording deliberations are:

• Kate said it better than I could have ever done - when we remove regulation, we do not remove responsibility. And I keep repeating this point. Even for unregulated areas, like non-personal data in the EU, you still have a responsibility. With regulation, we create a highway for adoption. That is so so so interesting!
• I have always gone - AI is a succes when your most busy employees can't live without it. However, of course, it is even more serious when you talk about kids: would you trust your child with an LLM right now as their best friend? Is this where we want to go? The child-test, the crititcal-process test - are you using them?
• The gap between preferred and probable outcome - this is exactly where we need to question our current state of affairs. Yes, technology can be a transforming power. That's is the preferred outcome. Yes, your processes are crap. That affects the probable outcome. This gap is the room for strategy. What do you need to do?...

I hope everyone enjoys this episode as much as I did. This is a splendid listen.

I couldn't have wished for a better episode 50 - thank you, Kate, for helping me make this special.

Do you want to know more about Kate O'Neill ?

Kate O’Neill is a digital innovator, chief executive, business writer, and globally recognized speaker widely known as the “Tech Humanist.” She is the founder and CEO of KO Insights, a strategic advisory firm that enhances human experiences at scale through data-driven and AI-led interactions. Kate has worked with prestigious clients like Google, IBM, Microsoft, and the United Nations, and she was one of the first 100 employees at Netflix.

Her groundbreaking insights have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and WIRED, and she has shared her expertise on NPR and the BBC.?

Kate has been honored with numerous awards, including “Technology Entrepreneur of the Year” and a spot on Thinkers50's list of the World’s Management Thinkers to Watch. With six influential books under her belt, including Tech Humanist and A Future So Bright, as well as her latest, What Matters Next, Kate is an active contributor to the management, strategy and technology discussion.