Digitally Curious

We’ve heard so much over the last few months about Generative AI and in particular, ChatGPT, so what does it all mean for companies, and what’s coming next?

To answer these questions and more, I spoke with Heather Dawe, UK Head of Data at UST. She is is a well-known Data Leader with over 20 years of experience working across the industry.

Heather has worked at a senior level as a Statistician and Data Scientist within government, the wider public sector and industry.

With expertise in the health, retail, telecommunications, insurance and finance domains, Heather seeks to problem-solve and innovate with real-world challenges, within large organisations, academia, start-ups and incubators.

She also pioneered the development of multi-disciplinary data science teams within the UK public sector.

Heather is passionate about helping others to develop their skills and expertise. She is an advocate for democratising AI as well as achieving greater diversity in those who develop it.

We covered a range of important topics in the field of Generative AI including:

• Defining AI and Machine Learning
• Where Generative AI fits in the AI family
• What the “GPT” in ChatGPT means
• How ChatGPT actually works
• Chat GPT3 vs ChatGPT4
• Is ChatGPT a step-change moment for AI?
• Are we expecting too much from AI?
• Do we need a pause on AI developments?
• How can we regulate new AI platforms?
• How Heather has been using ChatGPT
• Does ChatGPT have a political bias?
• The power of Generative AI for company data
• How Cybercriminals could be using Generative AI
• Heather’s work with clients at UST
• Generative AI predictions in 1, 3 and 5 years
• Three actionable things to better understand AI systems

More on Heather
Heather on LinkedIn
UST Website

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Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

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Does Generative AI restrict our freedom to think if we ask it to do everything for us?

To answer this question, I spoke with international Human Rights Lawyer, Author and Speaker and author of  “Freedom to Think: The Long Struggle to Liberate our Minds.” Susie Alegre.

We last spoke to Susie on the podcast in 2022, before the Generative AI tool ChatGPT had been released, so in this show, Susie provided an update on her views on ChatGPT and AI in general.

We looked at the current trends in AI, and Susie provided some advice for the big tech companies about how they take the next steps with these powerful tools.

In a recent interview, she said: “If artificial intelligence doesn’t know the answer, it simply makes up plausible response, but it automates the prejudices of our societies and delivers them with the confidence of a crypto salesman”.

She asks the question we're all asking - Chat GPT: What is it for?

To end the podcast, she provided three actionable tips on how to best use Generative AI tools:

1. think about why you're using it instead of using your own brain or your own time

2. Don't believe a word it says; double check possibly through Google or maybe go to a library
 
3. Play with it. But don't trust it.

This show provides a fascinating update to our previous podcast and is very timely.

More on Susie can be found on her website.
You can purchase her book here.
Listen to our first podcast here.

Thanks for listening to Digitally Curious. You can buy the book that showcases these episodes at curious.click/order

Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

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What traits does the leader of the future need to survive? To answer this question, I spoke to Hannah Greenwood, an international Leadership Speaker, Coach and Writer who works with individuals and global teams to facilitate creative enquiry and implement change.

She founded Cascãd over 19 years ago and specialises in developing the "Champion Mindset" - the alchemic combination of innovative thinking and positive energy.

Cascãd’s Champion Mindset has helped individuals and companies achieve extraordinary things by harnessing the potential of true change.

Hannah is an Associate at London Business School and was formerly Head of Counselling Courses at the Metanoia Training Institute for Psychotherapy and an Adjunct Professor at HULT International Business School teaching the MBA Leadership Module.

She combines her leadership, teaching and therapeutic expertise to enable individuals to engage with their passion and to achieve excellence in their chosen field.

We covered so many things related to the future of leadership, including:

• What is a champion mindset, and why do we need one?
• The difference between working one-on-one and working with a team.
• The issue of presenteeism
• Encouraging leaders to create teams that others want to join
• Creating modern leaders
• Transformational inner change

She also recommended an excellent book during the quickfire round, so you must listen to the end.

Resources mentioned in the show
Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

More on Hannah
Hannah on LinkedIn
Cascãd website

Thanks for listening to Digitally Curious. You can buy the book that showcases these episodes at curious.click/order

Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

For more on Andrew - what he speaks about and recent talks, please visit ActionableFuturist.com

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I’ve been guilty of quoting the phrase “The subscription Economy” many times over the last few years without really knowing who coined it - its origins are actually with Tien Tzuo, CEO of Zuora.

To explain more, I was joined by John Smith Phillips, Senior Vice President of SVP Sales & General Manager, EMEA at Zuora on the latest Actionable Futurist Podcast.

We looked at how subscription services might adapt in the future and looked at how John and his clients are currently moving towards a recurring revenue model.

Zuora has helped businesses in all industries transition to subscription models, working with businesses from the Guardian to Schneider Electric.

As John mentions, when you have a recurring revenue model and platform, you can actually see how your customers are consuming the service - and make changes or better versions of the existing product.
 
This is a fascinating chat about something many of us take for granted.

More on John
John on LinkedIn
Zuora Website

Thanks for listening to Digitally Curious. You can buy the book that showcases these episodes at curious.click/order

Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

For more on Andrew - what he speaks about and recent talks, please visit ActionableFuturist.com

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5G networks are all about speed and capacity, so private 5G networks are just a closed version of the same - right? Think again. Private wireless networks are on the rise, and to find out more, I spoke with Shahid Ahmed, Group EVP of New Ventures and Innovation at NTT, on the latest Actionable Futurist Podcast.

He is responsible for driving new digital experiences, offerings and technologies that create growth and transform people’s lives and companies and brings over 25 years of experience leading large services businesses with a focus on business transformation.

In this show, we looked at several issues, including:

• The difference between public and private 5G networks
• The strengths of WiFi vs Private 5G
• The opportunity for edge computing and 5G services
• How NTT drives innovation
• The power of a distributed workforce

5G private networks won’t replace WiFi but will deliver new services in locations and industries requiring increased security and control.

NTT surveyed 200 CIOs within the industrial manufacturing and automotive sectors, and they cited that the reason for deploying private 5G networks was not because of latency and speed but because of the inherent need for security and control.

More on Shahid
Shahid on LinkedIn
NTT Global on Twitter
NTT at Mobile World Congress 2023

Thanks for listening to Digitally Curious. You can buy the book that showcases these episodes at curious.click/order

Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

For more on Andrew - what he speaks about and recent talks, please visit ActionableFuturist.com

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Remote working as an option for the modern workforce is here to stay - so what advice would someone who's been working remotely for years have for others?

To answer this question, I spoke with Mark Pinsent, Managing Director, Europe for The Hoffman Agency - a leading Technology PR company.

Mark graduated in 1992 with a degree in Information and Computing Science but his creative streak saw him enter the world of marketing and communications.

He says he’s spent 28 happy years developing and delivering campaigns for B2B and B2C brands in the UK and internationally.

In the second half of the podcast, from the 36:44 mark, we spoke about the art of storytelling and how PR can help organisations tell a great story.

Mark is coming to us today from his “location agnostic” office in France.

The episode is a long one, just over an hour, but worth listening to every minute.

We recorded this back in June 2022, when things were stating to return to normal. Thankfully in March 2023, things seem much more open.

More on Mark
Mark on LinkedIn
Mark on Instagram
Mark’s Landrover Sandy on Instagram
Mark on Twitter
The Hoffman Agency website
The World for Sale book

Thanks for listening to Digitally Curious. You can buy the book that showcases these episodes at curious.click/order

Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

For more on Andrew - what he speaks about and recent talks, please visit ActionableFuturist.com

Andrew's Social Channels
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@Andrew.Grill on Instagram
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We’ve heard of “full-stack Engineers”, but what is a Full Stack CMO? To find out I spoke with Maya Moufarek, CEO of strategic growth consultancy Marketing Cube for the latest Actionable Futurist Podcast.

Maya has over 15 years in the tech and direct-to-consumer industries with roles at Google, Amex, Cisco and LG and she is passionate about working with ambitious entrepreneurs and purpose-driven CEOs to deliver truly sustainable growth.

She says she is proud to be multicultural and multilingual, having had the pleasure of living and working in Moscow, Paris, Amsterdam, New York City, San Francisco and here in London.

We covered a lot of issues related to marketing in start-up companies, including:

• What it means to be a "Full-stack CMO” 
• Understanding the human psyche to be a good marketer
• The secret to building sustainable & profitable growth plans
• The one common mistake that start-up CEOs make
• The specific characteristics of high-growth companies
• Advice for early-stage start-ups

More about Maya
Maya on LinkedIn
Maya on Twitter
Marketing Cube Website

Thanks for listening to Digitally Curious. You can buy the book that showcases these episodes at curious.click/order

Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

For more on Andrew - what he speaks about and recent talks, please visit ActionableFuturist.com

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“Permacrisis” was the 2022 Collins Dictionary word of the year, and this year, people are seeking ways to adapt in an uncertain world.

Accenture identified five emerging trends that will alter the power dynamic between brands and customers in the coming 12 months and beyond:

1: Permacrisis and human adaptability

2: What’s next for loyalty?

3: The importance of work intangibles

4: AI is now in people’s hands for creativity

5: Digital wallets: a question of adoption

This year, people are seeking ways to adapt in an uncertain world.​

Emerging technologies are giving control to the people, with never-before-seen outcomes for businesses and individuals.

Artificial intelligence lets people express their natural creativity, Web3 offers the chance to help shape the brands they love, and tokenization may soon hand them full control over their personal data.

How will brands build trust and leverage new technologies for growth?

Building on the 15-year legacy of Fjord Trends, this report—Accenture Life Trends 2023—has the same inspiring content. This year's report is rooted in life centricity and examines the ways in which people are adapting their lives and making use of emerging technology to meet their changing needs.

To examine the report in greater detail, we spoke to Katie Burke,  Accenture Song’s Metaverse Continuum Global Content & Offering Lead, working with clients around the globe on their entry into the next wave of the internet.

Sitting within Accenture Song’s innovation and thought leadership practice, she currently serves as the lead content writer for the annual Life Trends report, as well as leading Accenture Song’s ground-up innovation program, that explores technologies that are signalling on the future of humanity, future of interactions, and future of brands.

Katie’s career has been at the intersection of humans, innovation, and creativity. She has created three metaverse experiences for Accenture since the start of the pandemic and has created two thriving digital communities, which is one of the key attributes of Web3.

Resources mentioned
Accenture Life Trends Report 2023
Dom Price, Work Futurist at Atlassian Podcast
Dr Lynn Gribble on the opportunities for Generative AI in Education
Solid Project at MIT

More on Katie
Katie on LinkedIn
Katie on Accenture.com

Thanks for listening to Digitally Curious. You can buy the book that showcases these episodes at curious.click/order

Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

For more on Andrew - what he speaks about and recent talks, please visit ActionableFuturist.com

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What’s the future of finance?

To answer this question I spoke with James Butland, Vice President of Financial Partnerships, EMEA for Airwallex.

Airwallex was founded by four friends, Jack Zhang, Max Li, Lucy Liu, and Xijing Dai, in Melbourne, Australia in 2015 and was inspired by real-life experiences.

Out of their love for good coffee, engineering-banking friends Jack Zhang and Max Li started Tukk & Co, a café in Melbourne.

As small business owners, they recognised first-hand the impact of high foreign exchange (FX) fees and banking costs on their profit margins, and sought out to build a better solution for businesses operating cross-border, improving on the constraints of the current global financial system.

Specifically they wanted to solve the pain points surrounding cross-border transactions and empower businesses of all sizes to operate anywhere, anytime.

What's the future of the financial services industry?

The financial services industry is undergoing a radical transformation, partly through the forces demanded by regulation, as well as the needs of consumers and small and large enterprises.

New Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platforms can help to drive improved customer experience and business growth, and also could be the key to unlocking the future of the financial services industry.

Increasingly companies are now investing in incorporating financial products and services into their core business models.

To meet this rising demand for embedded finance, traditional financial institutions and challengers are increasingly offering BaaS options.

But where do you start?

James answers these questions and more, including how new banking platforms can empower a “talent anywhere” strategy for a reimagined workforce, allowing the best people to be hired no matter where they live, even if a company doesn’t have a physical presence in that country.

More on James
James on LinkedIn
Airwallex website

Thanks for listening to Digitally Curious. You can buy the book that showcases these episodes at curious.click/order

Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

For more on Andrew - what he speaks about and recent talks, please visit ActionableFuturist.com

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Finance, meet Sustainability. On this episode of the podcast, I spoke with Andromeda (Andie) Wood who is Vice President for Regulatory Strategy for Workiva.

She is an expert in the role of technology in corporate reporting, taxonomy design and data modelling, and holds a wealth of knowledge and deep understanding of the impact of EU and UK regulation on global firms, particularly in the areas of corporate transparency and ESG.

There is an undeniable global shift towards greater standardisation in reporting ESG initiatives across markets.

As it stands, corporate reporting comprises the financial statements and management reports of companies, including non-financial and corporate governance statements, as well as country-by-country reporting.

Under the new directive, reports would also include sustainability information.

While new standards consolidate several diverse formats previously used for reporting on ESG progress, Andie explains why transforming standards will cultivate a more hygienic reporting culture that will champion ESG results.

We covered a lot of ground in this podcast, such as:

Push for improvement: These new standards address a worrying lack of clarity on how to report on sustainability, including information on methodology requirements, to more accurately highlight failure points

Future-proof ESG reporting: They will help businesses to mitigate challenges and prepare for the unknown by implementing processes that establish flexibility and control

Acknowledging that ESG plays a direct role in top-line growth: New standards establish critical business success factors, highlighting the role of ESG and encouraging businesses to integrate it into the overall business strategy

Moving towards international comparability: An incremental, but mindful, transition towards transparent reporting will help to build up a rich history of reporting across regions which investors can use to better judge business progress, both individually and competitively

This was an interesting podcast and introduced me to the link between finance and sustainability.

More on Andie

Andie on LinkedIn
Andie on Twitter
Andie’s insights at Workiva

Thanks for listening to Digitally Curious. You can buy the book that showcases these episodes at curious.click/order

Your Host is Actionable Futurist® Andrew Grill

For more on Andrew - what he speaks about and recent talks, please visit ActionableFuturist.com

Andrew's Social Channels
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Keynote speeches here
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