Why AI needs a Proof-of-Concept to Production pipeline

Organisations that treat AI as a series of disconnected experiments will end up with expensive demos, shadow IT and AI, and mounting risk rather than real business value.

AI has changed the cyber threat landscape

Artificial intelligence is now a first‑order cyber risk driver, as well as a productivity tool. AI‑accelerated threats, fragile model “harnesses,” and concentrated dependence on a few vendors demand urgent uplift in governance, resilience, and incident response.

The hype cycle and AI: why we need to stay grounded

Generative AI has hit the peak of inflated expectations. The Gartner Hype Cycle reminds us we've been here before - and shows why governance, not hype, and doing the work still matters.

AI adoption is a people problem, not a technology problem

AI isn’t magic. It’s change management (and people). Ignore that at your peril.

ANZAC Day and a multipolar world: what “lest we forget” means now

On ANZAC Day 2026 I remember the ordinary diggers behind the legend and reflect on Australia’s place in an emerging multipolar world, from Gallipoli to today’s conflicts.

AI, power, and why open institutions matter

Software and AI are never neutral; they can quietly lock in existing systems of control and power. To avoid surrendering autonomy to a few proprietary platforms, we need open, community‑governed institutions that keep AI accountable and share its benefits more fairly.

Beyond AI hype: building new institutions for AI and the Digital Revolution

In history I saw how the English working class responded to upheaval of the industrial revolution by building new institutions Today’s AI disruption raises a similar question: what new institutions do we need for the AI age?

Losing faith in the system: distrust, AI, and the turn to alternative beliefs

Etsy witches, AI, & young people quietly returning to the Catholic Church might look unrelated, but they all signal a crisis of trust in institutions.

Etsy witches, Claude’s mythos, and the strange mood we are in

Etsy witches, constitutional AI, and rising geopolitical risk are all symptoms of the same restless zeitgeist.

Australia’s data sovereignty ambitions will fail without research compute

Australia’s lack of serious, at‑scale compute is not just a research productivity problem, it is a sovereignty problem as well. Our universities are trying to do world‑class work on infrastructure that simply does not match the ambitions in our national AI strategies or data sovereignty rhetoric.

AI is now infrastructure: Why that changes everything

AI is no longer just a clever feature bolted onto apps - it’s fast becoming a core piece of digital infrastructure, as fundamental as electricity, networks and cloud.

AI Agents Are Here: How Memory, Emergence, and Governance Will Make or Break the Agent Era

The Agent Era Isn’t Coming. It's here and it’s Already Messy. I spent an interesting evening at an agentic AI meetup with old friends Mark Pesce and John Allsop in the wilds of Waterloo in a brewery the other night. It really got me thinking about

ai

What we need to think about for effective AI governance

People keep asking me: “What do we actually do about AI governance?”

data governance

Data Governance needs a rebrand

I have long thought that data governance has a brand problem. Inside many organizations it still sounds like control, cost, and constraint, not value. Even when the underlying work is critical, the label “data governance” often lands with executives as bureaucracy: steering committees, policies, and standards that slow things down.

adhd

Life with ADHD: Time blindness, or why I lose hours, not just my keys

Time has always felt a bit … theoretical to me. People talk about “ten minutes” or “next week” as if these are solid, tangible things you can hold in your hand and stack neatly in a calendar. For those of us with ADHD, time is usually either “now” or “not now”

ai

Agentic AI: How Voice-Driven Agents Are Changing the Way We Use Apps

I spoke at the Front End of Innovation (FEI) Conference in Boston back in June 2024 about AI, innovation and the future. I have been thinking a lot about this topic in the time since 2024 and now in early 2026. The future direction of Artificial Intelligence is not just

ideas

After 10 Years as a CDO: What I’ve learned about excellent jobs

Back in late 2024, after a decade as Chief Data and Insights Officer at UNSW Sydney, and more than a decade working at UNSW, I decided it was time to leave. It was a big step. It was scary to leave the comfort of a role and place I'

adhd

Life with ADHD: The Hidden Cognitive Load Behind “Losing Things”

One of the more "amusing" things about having ADHD for me is that I lose things. Not usually irrevocably, but they disappear for long periods and then mysteriously reappear. A while back I lost my bottle of Vyvanse tablets and I could not find them anywhere. Then while

bingo card

2026 Bingo Card

As is my tradition I do my annual bingo card at the start of the new year to deal with my existential dread. Herewith my 2026 bingo card. I’ll be doing a wrap up on my 2025 BingoCard shortly.

ai

AI, Cybersecurity and Sovereignty: Technology & Security Podcast

Was on the Technology & Security Podcast with the smart and lovely Miah Hammond-Errey just before Christmas 2024 - have been meaning to share the link. Miah and I had a great chat where we traced my path from defending shopping centre digital systems against cyber threats to building higher

history

Colonialism, Convicts and Country: How the British Empire shaped my Australian Story

Reflection on how colonialism shaped the modern world and my Australian family story, built on both convict and migrant histories and Indigenous dispossession.

reflection

2025 Reflection: Why community and kindness matter more than ever

As I contemplate 2025 while sitting in the shade in the tropics 🏝️ on vacation, I realise how precious are the networks of relationships and friendships I have been lucky enough to accumulate. These are the many people who’ve helped me along the way, and whom I have also tried

ai

AI Innovation: Why leadership matters more than technology

In the history of business, technology has always been the driver of change, from stone tools to the internet. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is simply the most recent, and arguably among the most powerful, addition to this long line of technologies. However, like every revolutionary technology that came before it, its

ai

The future of AI is smaller not bigger

The future of AI will be smaller and not bigger. My take on where AI’s headed? Forget bigger, flashier, more bloated models. The future’s going to be smaller, smarter, and way more focused. This is especially with the advent of agentic AI, since this will be driving business