When you read this, we have just arrived in Cape Town— mixing business with pleasure. We’ll be there for the month of March. If you are based in Cape Town and fancy a coffee (or a glass of wine), drop me a line.
It has been an interesting month.
AI board briefings
I delivered a number of board presentations on AI this month and also spoke at the launch event of Intleacht — on, yes, AI. The core message was straightforward: AI is not going away. It is an accelerator for every other technology going hyper exponential. BANI and Rumsfeld on steroids indeed
AI is fundamentally about data — but also about context, nuance, and judgement. I also spoke about the risks, over-dependency, shadow AI, and the practical limits of current models. Think agentic AI during a power cut. Think fragmented and layered AI. Think SLMs, not just LLMs. Think KISS — cutting through the hype and focusing on what is actually useful. We also explored the importance of the human in the loop, the need for a single source of truth, and the growing role of IoT, edge AI, and smart systems.
As I wrote in my book about books about AI: ik kan er geen soep van koken. There is a lot of noise, a lot of confusion, and not nearly enough clarity. Happy to share the presentation deck.
Philosophically, I believe the future is augmented natural intelligence — wisdom over code. AI should amplify human awareness and decision-making, not replace them. Consider AyurvedAI, BuddhAI, and chakrAI. Early signals are already emerging. From a business perspective, it comes down to balancing two risks: the risk of not using AI, and the risk of using it badly. A useful question for any leadership team: If your AI tools went down in your business for 72 hours, what would happen?
Need your help with two interesting clients
Innovare. I am working with Innovare, a Climate-KIC/JETRO client, on entering the European market.
Innovare is a Japanese company that uses patented technology to upcycle rubber seeds — 99% of which currently go unused — into biofuel, biochar, and stockfeed. It offers an alternative to palm oil while creating additional income for small farmers. Koryu, the founder and CEO, will be in Europe in early March. If you would like to meet or speak with him, let me know.
Niskus Biotech. I am also working with Niskus Biotech on fundraising. Poly-valorisation. Playing LEGO with waste streams from distilleries and transforming them into high-added-value proteins. From risk and waste to circularity, ROI and opportunity. Relevant introductions are welcome.
Some interesting books
- The Transformation Economy. Only a small fraction of companies will become truly transformative. In a world where technology is levelling the playing field, that is where the real opportunity lies.
- Convergence. There is no question about it: because of the convergence of multiple technologies, many of them becoming increasingly interchangeable, we are at the start of a transformation as profound as industrialisation or the internet — but moving at far greater speed. In that context, AI is only the beginning.
- Reshuffle. A fundamental insight: strategy is not about following the map. It is about creating a new one.
- Could, Should, Might, Don’t. A reminder that the future is often mundane. Ordinary. Everyday. Boring, even. And yet that is exactly where its power lies. The future will not only arrive through dramatic breakthroughs. For most people, most of the time, it will show up in the unremarkable details of daily life.
As always, happy to talk, help and catch up. Wishing you an interesting March.
