Executive summary Global electricity demand is undergoing its most violent inflection in three decades, and the company best positioned to capture it is the one that owns the picks and shovels of AI's physical buildout. After 15 years of near-flat growth, global power consumption surged 4.4% in 2024 and is now compounding at ~3.6% annually through 2030 per the IEA, equivalent to adding a Japan to the world every year. Data centers alone will consume 945 TWh by 2030 in the IEA

There's "China speed," the pace at which platforms get built, scaled, and exported across the Pacific. And then there's "Shenzhen speed," which is fast enough to surprise the Chinese themselves. I just spent a week there at a Prosus tech conference. Beyond participating as one of the keynotes, the bigger takeaway was listening to the Chinese AI landscape unfold with founders speaking on building robots, AR glasses, and frontier models. The programming was very thoroughly put

Sometimes we read about sweeping headlines on AI, and it makes us lose hope in humans. AI gets better exponentially at everything and our confidence in ourselves starts to wane. But the other day, I came across a test where the humans scored 100% and AI around 1%. Whenever a new model update is rolled out, it is measured against industry benchmarks. (These benchmarks include tests such as MMLU, which measures broad knowledge across many subjects, GSM8K for mathematical reaso

AI slowly eats away the modern org chart Did you know that the modern org chart is actually modelled after how soldiers reported to generals during war times in the Roman period? Just like how schools are modelled after the Germanic assembly line (aka outdated), org chart make-ups isn’t that innovative either. And it’s controlled us for about 2000 years. Let that sink in. So apparently, back in the day, 8 soldiers would form a contubernium (pictured below) Which really was ju

Tokens are the new form of labor, a new way to calculate the opex of a company? The other day, I was using Perplexity Computer, a new product feature that was rolled out. Basically, it’s Perplexity’s version of an AI agent, where it can draft and send emails, run commands in parallel, create sub agents, and execute on tasks. Each task that was finished, my credits started to dwindle, and it made me think of something, which is that labor, in the future, is simply tokens.

I just came across this chart recently and it really put things into perspective. Most people in the world have not even interacted with an AI chatbot yet, so it does make me rethink the pace that things will change. We talk about AI adoption as if it is one event. A switch that flips. But the reality, for anyone who has lived through it inside an organization, is that AI adoption unfolds in phases. Each one feels transformative while it is happening, and then feels obvious i

I went on a date with a machine in Manhattan. It made me rethink everything I thought I knew about relationships. The door opened to a wine bar in Manhattan, and I'll tell you what I expected: something clinical. Something strange. Screens everywhere. Maybe a robot greeting me at the entrance. But no. I entered the room and, to be honest, it looked like a normal restaurant. Warm lighting. The hum of quiet conversation. Glasses of wine catching the glow of candles. The only di

So we have 1000 PhDs in our pocket now, they say. We have AI that can pass MCATs and LSATs, they say. And yet, 95% of AI projects have failed so far. Companies are pouring billions of dollars into AI investments, yet only 6% have seen a ROI. Are we still stuck in the trough of disillusionment? It’s been four years since the launch of ChatGPT, which started this turbulent AI wave. Have things really taken off? A Look Back in Time Let me take you back to the year 1987. This was

AI has already begun to redraw the lines of what’s possible, automating tasks, amplifying individual output, and reshaping entire industries. But here’s the catch: while some are using it to unlock incredible leverage, many are still on the outside, unsure where to even begin. There’s a growing divide between those who understand and harness these tools and those who don’t. It’s not just a tech issue; it’s a power issue. The benefits of this new era are not evenly distributed

Attracting more leads online has become a challenge for many small businesses. Traditional SEO tactics are no longer enough as search engines evolve to answer user questions directly. This shift calls for a new approach called Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). Understanding how to optimize your website for AEO can help your small business stand out and connect with potential customers more effectively. This post explores practical strategies tailored for smaller companies to

Sometimes the hustle and bustle of New York gets to me; its endless traffic, endless spores of people spilling on to the sidewalks, endless things to do and places to go. So the past few days, I’ve been spending time in New Hampshire, a much quieter part of the US. So much has happened in the world of AI and yet, as I look out my window to the quiet falling of snow onto classic New England homes, it feels like nothing much had changed. Most of us are still going to work next

Happy Holidays! I hope you are cozy and well-fed during the last couple of days of 2025. If you were muddled by the numerous headlines in AI in 2025, here is the condensed version to fully bring you up to speed with what happened in the AI space so you can skip all the reading. AI in 2025: Major Shifts and Trends 1. AI Shifted from Chat to Agents Without a doubt, agents dominated the airspace this year. The most consequential shift of 2025 was the move away from conversationa

Introduction to AI in China’s Tech Ecosystem China has emerged as a global leader in leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) across its vast digital landscape, especially within mobile applications. The country is home to the world’s largest e-commerce market (≈CNY 15.4 trillion, or $2.2 trillion in 2023)trade.gov, and its tech giants are infusing AI into nearly every aspect of the online shopping journey. From algorithm-driven product recommendations to augmented reality try

Want to know a new viral trend on Tik Tok. It’s not six seven. (and if you don’t know what 6-7 means, that’s what the kids are saying these days. If you don’t know what it means, just call over your preteen or teenage kid. They will happily explain it to you.) Something strange is happening on Tik Tok. There is a trend where girls are showing what ChatGPT is suggesting to them after they have given it a photo of their face. It’s called the ChatGPT GlowUp. Why go to my expensi

These days, AEO is all the rage. Funnily enough, I looked back through my blog archive and found this post that I wrote in July 2024 about Answer Engine Optimization. Yes! I had the foresight back then to write about it. That is what led me to asking my Linkedin audience on their search habits. Thank you to all those who made a contribution. Of course, my Linkedin audience is by no means reflective of the wider group of ChatGPT users. (they would probably err more on the AI-f

In an era of rapid technological change, organizations are discovering that the ability to learn and adapt may be the most valuable skill of all. This is especially true in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI). New AI tools and capabilities emerge at a dizzying pace. What was cutting-edge last year might be commonplace today. A year ago, most AI applications could only process text; now they can analyze images, interpret voice commands, and perform tasks once thought to

Introduction Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to research labs; it has given rise to AI agents that are transforming everyday work. An AI agent is essentially an intelligent software assistant capable of autonomously performing tasks or making decisions on a user’s behalf. These agents use advances in generative AI to understand natural language, analyze data, and interact with software systems. From drafting legal documents to triaging medical patients, AI agent

Bill Gates once said, if you want a problem solved, give it to the lazy person. What he meant was lazy people like to cut corners and do things the most efficient way possible, because they don’t like to put in effort. This laziness isn’t always bad. It mirrors what calculators did for math or GPS did for navigation: we offloaded the tedious parts. Why spend a longer time doing something when an easier way has already been invented? But the risk is when offloading becomes ove

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the retail industry, driving efficiency and creating more personalized consumer experiences. From automating back-end operations to tailoring marketing and shopping journeys, AI technologies are becoming integral across online and brick-and-mortar retail. This report provides a comprehensive overview of how AI is transforming retail and influencing consumer behavior, covering key technologies, operational impacts, customer experience

Organizational Risk Even without an AI Race, no malicious actors involved, no AI going rogue, there is still organizational risk because accidents simply happen. Building a culture that emphasizes safety and rigorous testing is needed to reduce accidents. Having a security mindset, a questioning attitude and exercises where the team imagines what can go wrong in disaster planning will help. The Swiss Cheese Model of Defense[i] The Swiss Cheese Model of Defense is a way of und