Category Archives: Technology

Technology

Solar in the long run…

As climate scientist Gavin Schmidt at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies pointed out on Bluesky, the energy content before use of all the fuels used worldwide in 2024 was 186,000 terawatt-hours. He said Earth receives 6000 times as much energy as that each year.

Moreover, Schmidt said, if you take into account the fact 60 per cent of fossil fuel energy is lost while converting it to useful power, then Earth receives 18,000 times as much energy from the sun as would be needed to meet the current energy consumption.

Of course, existing solar panels capture only around 20 per cent of the sun’s energy, and you can’t put them everywhere. But a 2021 report by Carbon Tracker estimated that 0.3 per cent of the world’s land area – yes, just the land – would be needed to meet the current energy demand from solar alone, which is less than the current land footprint of fossil fuel infrastructure. In principle, solar and wind could supply more than 100 times the current global energy demand, according to the report.

Why solar power is the only viable power source in the long run | New Scientist

Technology

Is Technology the issue in schools…

Schools go back in France tomorrow. The big difference is that children are to be separated from their phones at the entrance.

A lot of the commentary states that technology is the issue. I think that we may be missing the point. Each generation needs to learn about the technology and, so far, we’ve not learnt to deal with Social Networks.

However, turning off all access is probably a mistake…

While those discussions dragged on, students fell further behind in math and reading, with Green Bank consistently posting the lowest test scores in the county. “Our kids are no different than the other kids in the county,” said Principal Melissa Jordan. “The only difference, in my opinion, is their lack of access to engaging technology.”

The school without WiFi – Marginal REVOLUTION

Technology

Just brute force it…

“One thing that should be learned from the bitter lesson is the great power of general purpose methods, of methods that continue to scale with increased computation even as the available computation becomes very great. The two methods that seem to scale arbitrarily in this way are search and learning.”

Bitter Lesson: Rich Sutton

How long till we start brute force teaching AI on internal company processes?

Technology

GPT-4…

Trying GPT-4.

I’m not sure where this goes (and anyone who pretends to know is selling snake oil) but I’m pretty sure it’s important.

However, they need to make the marketing shots look less like a sci-fi film where the AI has already subordinated humanity.

People sitting in a warmly lit library working on laptops at long tables

 

France, LeWeb, Technology

Do three, and then change…

This week saw the third VivaTech and for the first time I didn’t go. Things are busy at the moment and I couldn’t see what I’d learn that was new this time. The organisers have spent three years working on the model “if it ain’t broke, do the same but bigger”.

They now have a massive international success on their hands but they’ve salso started to bang up against the events rule of three.

  • Do something once and it’s new, original, interesting and feels like a breath of fresh air.
  • Second time is comfortable, it’s less awkward and you get a ton of value from it. You are less surprised by the rules and you know what you’re doing.
  • You get to the third event and you realise that people are bending the rules and gaming the system. It’s time to do something radically different.

I’ve seen this many times professionally and privately. VivaTech needs a second act and to move away from it’s corporate roots.

Where did I spend Saturday? At Startup for Kids, it was the first year; it’s tiny and they’ve a load to learn but were did get the pirate robot to work in the end!

 

DXC, Technology

Partners…

I had the chance in the last couple of weeks to lead our Partner Day in Paris where DXC spent a day with the teams of our largest partners in Europe. It was a great day where we were able to explain, in a very transparent way, how we work and learn from our Partners how they operate.

Inside-Out is increasingly important to all companies but especially Technology companies. In the 1980s a single company could supply almost all your computing needs. Trying to do that today is pointless.
So, what’s the difference between a Partner and a supplier?

When it works, it’s when you stop counting what you’re getting out of a relationship and just know that it’s mutually beneficial over the longer term.

Sounds like a marriage and it’s probably why we call the other half of a marriage a Partner!

Like a marriage the same basic rules seem to apply; be clear about what each partner wants, don’t assume that you know everything that your Partner is thinking and constant communication.

Of course, all this makes sense and easy to list. However, like a marriage do we remember to do this every week of the year? No but we should at least try.