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Long-form essay series

The Long View on AI

A long-range inquiry into how industry evolution, technology history, capital, business models and institutions may shape the next five to ten years of AI.

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Long-form essay series

Physical AI Foundations

A systems view of AI entering the physical world, from perception and edge inference to AI cameras, device lifecycle and robotics safety.

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An unmarked novel rests on a stone table in a sunlit future library, with light arriving from several directions

AI & Human AgencyOct 7, 20266 min read

I Asked Six AI Models to Read Neo Babylon. They Did Not Read the Same Book.

Six AI-written reviews of Neo Babylon: AI Forbidden Zone converge on its Taiwanese mythology, then diverge on spectacle, character, editorial craft and freedom of choice.

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01AI & Human AgencyI Asked Six AI Models to Read Neo Babylon. They Did Not Read the Same Book.Six AI-written reviews of Neo Babylon: AI Forbidden Zone converge on its Taiwanese mythology, then diverge on spectacle, character, editorial craft and freedom of choice.Oct 7, 20266 min read 02Technology, Business & SocietyWho Will Pay for the Global GPU and Data-Centre Buildout?A platform may finance an AI data centre without bearing its entire eventual cost. Follow cash spending, leases, depreciation, cloud contracts and electricity tariffs to see where the risk lands.Oct 6, 202612 min read 03Technology, Business & SocietyWhen Do Humanoid Robots Make Sense?A human-shaped robot can fit spaces and tools built for people. Whether that benefit justifies two-legged mobility and complex manipulation depends on the task and its alternatives.Oct 2, 20267 min read 04Technology, Business & SocietyWhy Household Robots Still Haven't Taken OffHousehold robots will not become ordinary because one machine can fold a shirt in a demo. They need to save more time than they add in supervision, recovery, maintenance, privacy and safety burden.Sep 29, 202612 min read 05Technology, Business & SocietyWhy Robotics Is Hard: The Real World Has No API ContractRobotics is difficult not simply because models need to improve, but because perception errors, contact physics, latency, mechanical wear and human behaviour accumulate into uncertainty that the system must manage safely.Sep 6, 202612 min read 06Technology, Business & SocietyWhen Token Costs Approach Zero, What Remains Expensive?Falling model prices do not make the full cost of AI disappear. The scarce and expensive parts are moving into energy, usable data, integration, verification, trust and organizational change.Sep 4, 202612 min read 07Technology, Business & SocietyWhen Devices Become AI-Powered, Product Management Becomes Lifecycle ManagementAI-powered devices force product teams to manage hardware and model dependencies, capability limits, power budgets, OTA failure paths, data flows, cybersecurity and end-of-life support.Sep 3, 202614 min read 08Technology, Business & SocietyAI Cameras Need to Understand Events, Not Just Detect ObjectsThe next AI camera advantage is not simply detecting more objects. It is turning continuous video into a small number of trustworthy events through tracking, rules, edge filtering, VLM review and interoperable metadata.Aug 28, 202614 min read 09Next Generation & EducationWhat Should We Teach Before We Teach Young People to Use AI?As AI enters schools and homes, young people need more than operational speed. They need to judge sources, recognize uncertainty, disclose AI's role, own outcomes, protect privacy and choose not to use it.Aug 24, 202612 min read 10Technology, Business & SocietyWhy Edge AI Matters Again: The Real Shift Is Where Inference RunsEdge AI is not replacing cloud AI. As AI moves into devices, cameras, robots and long-running agents, latency, connectivity, privacy, power and cost turn inference placement into a product architecture decision.Aug 22, 202613 min read 11Technology, Business & SocietyWhen Computer Vision Starts Understanding Events, Not Just ObjectsComputer vision is moving beyond object detection toward streaming video, event understanding and distributed edge inference. The harder question is who defines what counts as an event and what the system is allowed to do next.Aug 19, 202612 min read 12Technology, Business & SocietyWhat Is Physical AI? Why the Next Wave of AI Will Leave the ScreenGenerative AI transformed how we create and process information. Physical AI goes further: machines begin to perceive, reason and act in the real world, where latency, safety, hardware and failure suddenly matter much more.Aug 15, 202610 min read 13Technology, Business & SocietyWill AI Become Public Infrastructure Like Electricity and the Internet?As AI becomes a capability every sector depends on, the important questions shift from model performance to access, rules, cost and responsibility. Electricity, the internet and public compute point to three plausible futures.Aug 3, 202611 min read 14Future Cities & CivilizationFrom Garden Cities to AI Civilization: Why Future Cities Continue to Interest MeFrom Garden Cities and eyes on the street to climate resilience and AI governance, this essay traces the urban ideas that inform Neo Babylon.Jul 21, 202610 min read 15AI & Human AgencyWhy Some Young People May Be More Wary of AI Than AdultsStarting from family conversations and anxiety around creative work, this essay asks why some young people keep their distance from AI and what education should protect beyond tool use.Jul 21, 20266 min read

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Browse published essays by subject. Empty categories remain visible as future directions.

01AI & Human AgencyHow choice, responsibility, relationships and dignity change as AI becomes more capable.2 02Next Generation & EducationLearning, growth and AI literacy from the perspective of younger people.1 03Future Cities & CivilizationHow technology, climate and demographic change may reshape cities, institutions and life together.1 04Technology, Business & SocietyObserving technological change through products, markets and everyday work.11

TagsNext Generation 2 AI Education 2 Human Agency 6 Future Cities 3 Urban Governance 1 AI & Civilization 4 Speculative Design 1 AI Infrastructure 7 Compute Economics 4 Technology History 1 AI Business Models 2 Physical AI 8 Future of Work & Organizations 2