Writing

Notes on technology, AI and the decisions around them

The posts readers responded to most, kept here so they stay findable. New writing goes out on LinkedIn first.

• Bread crumbingLeadership · 2 November 2026

  "Explain it to me as if I was a cocker spaniel." I sometimes say that. It usually comes after the fourth or fifth message. I ask a question.

• Rent foreverTechnology strategy · 29 October 2026

  A while back I wanted to run an Oracle database on a VMware cluster. The point of the cluster was simple.

• The clones that had an answer keyAI-assisted engineering · 20 October 2026

  The story going round is that someone vibe coded Photoshop.

• When the picture looked rightMakers · 13 October 2026

  "Stop." I said it to the AI assistant I was using to design a card for a maker's stall.

• The log that cannot be edited afterwardsAI assurance · 8 October 2026

  When AI writes code no human will read, review stops being a control. What survives is evidence of behaviour. I posted that three weeks ago.

• It's very expensiveSmall business · 6 October 2026

  "It's very expensive." That is what the stallholder said to me, before I had even mentioned the price. I had picked up a crochet belt on their stall.

• The bottleneck movedOperating model · 1 October 2026

  I've discovered an unexpected productivity problem in 2026. I'm increasingly waiting for AI to finish its work.

• When someone refused my first answerLeadership · 20 September 2026

  "If you were 28 like me, with what you know now, what would you be doing?" Orji Matthew asked me that in a LinkedIn message this week, from Abuja.

• The decision problemTechnology leadership · 18 September 2026

  Most engineering organisations I see don't have a delivery problem. They have a decision problem.

• Judgement over executionLeadership · 16 September 2026

  Dropping my own recommendation was the best decision I made for a client this summer. My diagnosis was correct. One person's hours limited their output.

• The AI Act deadline that did not snoozeAI governance · 28 August 2026

  Nearly four weeks ago, parts of the EU AI Act still became applicable. The high-risk deadlines moved. Others did not.