Technology

Sitting at a recent conference meeting, one of the folks around the table said: “technology is good, but humans are more important”. That got me thinking, and maybe not in a good way as it immediately made me see that future of machines running the world, and humans coming second. Ex Machina, Terminator, Black Mirror…

Continuing my debate about data usage and data abuse, I listened to a fascinating discussion from the BBC about whether Mark Zuckerberg is a good or bad billionaire. You can listen to the podcast if interested, but a few items came up such as the release of customer data to Cambridge Analytica a few years…

Just been having a few meetings about the future of payments. Funnily enough, that sounds like the theme of my new book Intelligent Money. The message? Money is embedded, invisible and intelligent. It is ubiquitous, everywhere, anywhere. It is just part of the fabric of the world we live in. But then I thought further, talking…

The G20’s central banks announce a global alliance for digital currencies It’s been bubbling away for a while but, as central banks are launching CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currency) all over the world, there is now a G20 agreement to create a global digital currency. Initiated by Christine Lagarde at the European Central Bank (ECB),…

A long time ago, before most of you were born, I worked with Dr. An Wang, a visionary. Wang created Wang computers, a company that blossomed quickly into a global firm thanks to word processing. Word processing? Yes, word processing. What it allowed was the replacement of typewriters with computers, and companies loved it because…

I’ve been following Dan McCrum, the investigative journalist with The Financial Times, for quite a while. He’s the guy who broke the Wirecard story, even though it could have meant quite a lot of personal danger. If you haven’t read his book The Money Men, I can strongly recommend it or, if not, watch the…

In the 1990s, I got very excited about a number of challenger banks. Sainsburys, Tesco and Virgin all launched new banks in the UK, and there were several others worldwide such as the (David) Bowie Bank and the G&L (Gay and Lesbian) Bank. Where are they now? Nowhere. Sainsbury bank is up for sale, Tesco…

Is AI a good or bad thing? As I write my daily blog, I’ve realised that it seems to ask a question almost every single day. By way of example, just checkout my blog index and read the titles of the entries. A few recent examples: Is technology making our lives better or worse? Is…

One of the biggest challenges in moving to cashless is that there are a lot people who rely on cash. I hate it when you go to a restaurant and pay by card, because there’s nowhere to leave a cash tip. Sure, there’s a service charge, but will that be given to your host and…

It’s a little known fact that Coca-Cola was launched as a way to relieve the anxiety of change, but it’s true. Coca-Cola’s unique formula was developed to replace the addiction of Victorians to morphine and opium. The question is: why were Victorians addicted to morphine and opium? The answer is: the pace of change. Victorians…