Interview with Will MacAskill (March 2025) on AGI preparedness

(4 hour) March 2025 interview with William MacAskill, author of What We Owe the Future. Introducing his new paper - Preparing for the Intelligence Explosion - 11 March 2025 Summary takeaway - if we’re about to have 100 years of progress happening in the space of 10 years, how do we prepare? Topics Software intelligence explosion (43m) Hardware intelligence explosion (45m), e.g. AI robots doing everything Space governance (1h21m50s) Very optimised education and training (2h7m45s) Training for politicians AI as a coach, career, productivity, life, health coach (2h11m53s) Dealmaking AI (2h12m48s) Further reading Moorhouse, F., MacAskill, W. (2025). Preparing for the Intelligence Explosion. Available at: Forethought.org Related pages Book summary - What We Owe The Future, by Will MacAskill Discuss on X Interview with Will MacAskill (March 2025) on AGI preparedness https://t.co/hiGmQ9hp4S #agipreparedness ...

March 12, 2025 · 1 min

How Tyler Cowen is using AI to get smarter

Tyler Cowen is one of those great minds that whenever an interview is released, I’ll take a listen. An Economics professor at George Mason University, Tyler could be better described as a polymath, and he is most profilic as a writer on his blog Marginal Revolution. The world I’ve lived in has not changed that much since I was born but that’s about to change. You could say its changed already but its not fully instantiated in most of the things we do ...

March 8, 2025 · 5 min

Why High-Agency is the Skill You Need to Thrive with AI

With AI advancements, many wonder what will set workers apart in the future, particularly those involved in knowledge work and the professions. When AI has all the knowledge and all the intelligence, what value does the human worker bring? The answer is agency - high agency. High-agency individuals - those who take ownership of their actions, shape circumstances rather than react to them, and turn obstacles into opportunities - are the ones that will thrive. ...

March 7, 2025 · 2 min · Graeme Milroy

Why you should replace your Passwords with Passkeys (and how they work)

Passkeys are a modern authentication method designed to replace traditional passwords. Passkeys use cryptographic key pairs — public and private keys — to provide a more secure way to log in to websites and applications. The private key is securely stored on the user’s device, typically within a hardware security module (HSM), trusted platform module (TSM), or a secure enclave, while the corresponding public key is stored on the service’s server. By eliminating the need for passwords, passkeys help reduce the risk of phishing attacks, credential theft, and exposure of user credentials through password dumps. Passkeys often rely on the FIDO2 authentication standards, which provide a secure, passwordless login experience. ...

February 16, 2025 · 2 min · Graeme Milroy

UK Government Release their AI Playbook - Key Principles for Responsible AI Use Across the UK's Public Sector

What the playbook covers The UK Government published their Artificial Intelligence (AI) Playbook on 10 February 2025, setting out 10 Principles for using AI in government organisations. The playbook updates previous UK government publications, providing an expanded guide designed to help public sector organisations harness AI technologies safely, effectively, and responsibly. It is a must-read for risk managers, cyber-security professionals, and compliance experts working with or within the UK public sector. The playbook provides guidance and principles to navigate the unique challenges and opportunities presented by AI. ...

February 12, 2025 · 2 min · Graeme Milroy

The Power of One-to-One Meetings (1:1s)

A One-to-One meeting, or 1:1 meeting, is a management and career development technique designed to foster open communication, strengthen relationships, and support professional growth in a team environment. At their core, 1:1 meetings (1:1s) are regular, private discussions between a manager and a team member designed to build trust, provide feedback, and encourage development. 1:1s create a dedicated space for meaningful dialogue, allowing team members to share concerns, discuss challenges, and celebrate accomplishments. They help managers stay informed about individual progress, offer timely guidance, and proactively address potential roadblocks before they become larger issues. ...

February 9, 2025 · 3 min · Graeme Milroy

The Economist exposes the Dark World of the Online Scam Industry in an 8-part Podcast series

Online financial fraud has evolved into a sophisticated industry, and one of the most alarming new threats is known as pig butchering. This is not a niche cybercrime — it is a global, highly organised yet decentralised, and rapidly growing scam that preys on victims through social engineering and deception, and takes place entirely online. The scam will successfully target and exploit victims, often the elderly or emotionally vulnerable, and friends and family members will be entirely unaware until after the scammer has finished their work. ...

February 8, 2025 · 2 min · Graeme Milroy

A Guide to Clear Thinking - Spotting Logical Fallacies

Logical fallacies are errors in reasoning that undermine the validity of an argument. Recognising logical fallacies is essential for developing critical thinking, empowering you to objectively evaluate arguments and avoid being misled. A July 2024 article in the BBC’s Future series sets out 7 logical fallacies you can train yourself to spot whenever you hear an argument being made. When people are trying to persuade you, they sometimes reach for underhand tricks like the ‘appeal to ignorance’ or ‘whataboutism’ to seem more convincing. BBC Future ...

January 11, 2025 · 2 min

Mastering the Pre-Wire - The Secret to Productive Meetings

Effective communication and preparation are key to successful meetings and decision-making processes. One powerful technique that can significantly enhance the outcome of your meetings is the "pre-wire." This concept, which involves holding preliminary discussions before the main meeting, ensures that all participants are on the same page and any potential concerns are addressed in advance. When I was with APM I learned the phrase “pre-wire.” A pre-wire is simply the meeting before the meeting. As consultants it was important to share the meeting agenda with the customer and be aware of any concerns that they may have. As a manager I still find pre-wires important. For example, we always review the IT Steering Committee agenda with the chairperson a few days in advance of the meeting. The better prepared I am for the pre-wire the better the Steering Committee meeting will go. ...

January 2, 2025 · 1 min · Graeme Milroy

What a Second Trump Presidency Means for US Cybersecurity policy

Less than a month until the new American administration, Wired predicts what will change in US cybersecurity policy - and regulations. [… ] “more regulation will be dismantled than introduced.” Biden’s presidency was “riddled with new cyber regulation” that sometimes confused and overburdened industry, he adds. “The new White House will be looking to reduce regulatory burdens while streamlining smart compliance.”

December 8, 2024 · 1 min · Graeme Milroy

Cybersecurity’s AI Illusion - Why Human Expertise Still Matters

CISOs should be thinking now about changing the assumption that the ‘Great Machine’ of artificial intelligence is so transformational it can replace, rather than augment, human activity. There’s a philosophical concept called the Great Man Theory that suggests history is all about how significant individuals act as centers of gravity for society as a whole — think Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Queen Elizabeth I, or the founding fathers of the American Revolution. ...

December 8, 2024 · 1 min · Graeme Milroy

Best British Companies for Career Progression and Pay

Thinking of your next career move? The Economist and the Burning Glass Institute have come up with a list of the best British companies to work for to get ahead in your career - categorised between access, promotion, retention and pay - in a good example of open source data analytics, using “publicly available data on 151 of the country’s biggest and most recognisable employers.”

December 8, 2024 · 1 min · Graeme Milroy

Reliance that data centres have on fossil fuels may delay the transition to clean energy

More AI means more fossil fuel. Gartner Predicts Power Shortages Will Restrict 40% of AI Data Centers By 2027 - Gartner Gartner predict that data centres will experience power shortages in the next few years, driven mainly by increases in usage of AI. Data centre emissions are soaring - it’s AI or the climate - The Conversation Three of the biggest tech companies, Microsoft, Google and Meta, have reported ballooning greenhouse gas emissions since 2020. Data centres packed with servers running AI programs day and night are largely to blame. ...

December 8, 2024 · 1 min · Graeme Milroy

Outdated Risk Management Frameworks Face Growing Criticism - Tech News

Forrester Research challenges the Three Lines of Defence (3LOD) model twenty years on. The research firm writes that the three lines of defence is outdated: built for SoX, 3LOD hasn’t been reconsidered in two decades, and it’s time for a change. The three lines of defense (3LOD) concept was initially developed as a corporate governance framework to implement segregation of duties requirements under the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act. […] But as anyone who has tried to implement it as a foundation for enterprise risk management will tell you, the 3LOD is not a model for managing risk. Instead, it defines, with ample rigidity, the roles required to comply with segregation of duties requirements. This division is conceptually simple but does not match the operating model at most organizations. Forrester ...

December 8, 2024 · 1 min · Graeme Milroy

NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 was released this year - NIST

The US Government’s National Institute for Standards and Technology, known commonly as NIST, released its updated Cybersecurity framework in February. This was the first new version in 10 years, following the 1.0 version in 2014 that was primarily aimed at protecting US critical infrastructure. The new 2.0 version is international and aimed for broad consumption: drafted in collaboration with experts across 100 countries, it should also be easier to use. Version 2.0 also introduces a new category: Govern, recognising that the world has changed since 2014, with Cyber now an enterprise risk being discussed in the boardroom. ...

December 8, 2024 · 1 min · Graeme Milroy