Radical doubt isn’t a tidy philosophical exercise — it’s an existential quake that dissolves old certainties and forces a re‑orientation. In the wreckage, you rediscover yourself: not transformed, but coherent.

◴ Reading time: 3 minutes

Corporate lifespans are collapsing as complexity accelerates, creating fragile markets dominated by Hyperscalers - like fir forests that starve ecosystems of light. Strong customer activism and regulation can return equilibrium.

◴ Reading time: 3 minutes

The article critiques the business world’s fixation with “moats” as a signifier of digital feudalism, warning that AI technopanic and IP fortification deepen this trend but argues that serfdom isn’t inevitable.

◴ Reading time: 5 minutes

People see the curated version of our persona, algorithms see our unresolved traumas; being drawn to the familiar. Platforms exploit this vulnerability. De-escalation begins with rebuilding human educational foundations.

◴ Reading time: 5 minutes

Culture is meant to be a bridge between matter and meaning, yet it is being reduced it to metrics and pop culture. AI is still an unprecedented tool for cultural research. This piece examines if culture is in decline and how it can be regenerated.

◴ Reading time: 12 minutes

When a life‑lie hardens into a worldview, it becomes a tribe that defends belief over truth. Belonging replaces understanding; dissent feels like betrayal. In a complex world, this emotional tribalism is shrinking our collective capacity to think together.

◴ Reading time: 5 minutes

The one‑person unicorn is being promoted as empowerment, but it’s really a retreat — a fantasy of self‑sufficiency in a culture that’s forgotten how to hold people together. AI may level the playing field, but it can’t replace the relational fabric that makes meaningful work possible.

◴ Reading time: 5 minutes

Brand safety isn’t a shield to cower behind. It is a governance framework for consequence and investment. When brands act like investors, not traders, they stop chasing volatility and start allocating risk intentionally. They can exert pressure on wrongdoing.

◴ Reading time: 6 minutes

Economics often conflate efficiency with progress. Data is telling us otherwise: human development is stalling, productivity is slowing, and innovation is becoming harder. What we need isn’t more abundance but more agency — the capacity to act with resourcefulness.

◴ Reading time: 10 minutes

2026 marks a watershed moment for Humans In The Machine. After decades of accumulated experience across human systems and cultural behaviour. The Fourth Way of Futurism represents an idea no longer in development, but embodiment.

◴ Reading time: 15 minutes

Jony Ive joined OpenAI in May 2025 to mastermind an iPhone-killer AI device. I discuss that the ultimate goal for technology should not be invisibility with innovation consultant Amer Iqbal, the brains behind The 5 Ways To Innovate.

Humans In The Machine got back into the swing of things with a long overdue trip to Singapore in July and the pleasure of attending the MarTech World Forum run by The MarTech Weekly. In my keynote, I lobbied the audience that we need a new way for marketing and technology.

Modern media has skewed toward a more dystopian future in the 21st century. What used to be a way of reflecting on societal change through fiction, has become another way of sensationalising doom and fear. The real task is to make possibility feel as compelling, accessible, and culturally sticky as collapse.

Rugged individualism is arguably the ideological engine behind our global economy. From feeds to products, the promise is clear: you are unique, and we will cater to your uniqueness. Contrary to popular belief, humans are wired for cooperation, not tribalism. Businesses can leverage sameness to build resilient, human-centric systems.

Science-fiction offers thought-provoking insight on the potential role of Artificial Intelligence in humanity’s future. Two stories sprang to mind - the original Dune Series and You Like It Darker by Stephen King. They offer different perspectives on intelligence that are more powerful together.

How to distinguish a future with Artificial Intelligence that works better for us. Learning from the industrial revolution to forge a different path for the 21st century. Time for a new revolution. A smarter, more imaginative society. Empowering people together with AI, to cultivate key traits.

Humans In the Machine isn’t just about business, seeking inspiration from pioneers, artists and institutions that have made the world better. In this case through the form of music, using my trusty pair of Bowers & Wilkins PX8 and Flare Audio's latest auditory experiment, the Immerse.

Adoption of AI is advancing, exponentially faster than any recent technology, positioning it as the next great revolution, but what could that revolution entail? To imagine a new future we need to look into the industrial past.

Are you suffering from a crisis of meaning? You are actually one of the lucky ones. It might not feel like it, but it’s a sign that you have more resources to make use of. Meaningful Transformational Focus shows how concentrating energy into a few meaningful issues can ignite action and keeps a little fire burning.

The "Dead Internet" conspiracy theory is the idea that bots are now so pervasive online you could be the only human in online exchanges. The truth is darker and hungrier than that - 270 terawatt hours (TWh) of energy is potentially being wasted each year by malicious technologies.