Category: Technology

Have you been asked to ‘drain the swamp’ to fix a project?

Posted on by The Information Badger in Delivery, Education, social media, Technology, Uncategorized

Having a meal with Jack and his wife Jill recently raised the possibility that ‘draining the swamp’ has become a popular mantra within companies when they need to fix project delivery problems. Jack and Jill, by the way, are not their real names. Jack is an old friend and works as a project manager for a large defence contractor. He has just been asked by his line manager and a company executive to fix a seriously underperforming project by ‘draining the swamp’. The project is haemorrhaging money, seriously missing milestones, and has a demoralised and unproductive team. The client no longer believes the project team, or the company, can deliver. Jack ’s the fourth Project Manager appointed to fix things in the last nine months. Sound familiar?

The Badger asked why Jack could fix things when three others couldn’t. Jack said he was confident that he had the full support of line and executive leadership. They wanted him to ‘drain the swamp’ in order to avoid expensive litigation being threatened by the client. Jack wondered if the Badger had any thoughts. After a mouthful of mellow Merlot, the Badger offered three thoughts. Firstly, executives and line managers are just as much part of ‘the swamp’ as you, me, or any project team. Secondly, executives and line managers will support you 100%…until it suits them not to! Thirdly, to ‘drain the swamp’ you need to understand the swamp’s nature, which means understanding people and their behaviours.

Jack grinned and thanked the Badger for reminding him that those who appointed him are just as much part of ‘the swamp’ as his project team. He intended to keep that in mind when trying to ‘drain the swamp’. We chuckled at the thought that life came from a swamp, and while ‘the swamp’ today is different… it’s still a swamp!

Over dessert, Jill – who has dual UK & US nationality – moved our ‘draining the swamp’ conversation into the realms of President Trump, US politics and political turmoil in the UK. She expressed strong views about the abuse politicians get via the internet and social media, and lamented that ‘it wasn’t like this 25 years ago’! Jill wondered what had changed.

A lively debate ensued, but the answer was simple. Politicians are, and have always been, just one of the life forms in ‘the swamp’. Unlike 25 years ago, all life in ‘the swamp’ now has an instant and global voice via the internet and social media. Technology has changed the dynamics of ‘the swamp’, much to the distaste of some of the life forms that live in it!  We ended the meal with a final glass of wine, wishing Jack well with his challenge, and with just one final conclusion – there’s no going back…

‘Techlash’…’Backlash’…An inevitable part of the lifecycle of progress…

Posted on by The Information Badger in AI & Robotics, Education, Ethics & Regulation, social media, Technology, Uncategorized

A copy of New Scientist from early 2018 caught the Badger’s eye while sitting in a waiting room recently. It looked out of place in the pile of well-thumbed healthy living, home, and gardening magazines, but it was much more interesting to read. As expected, it contained a plethora of interesting snippets on a variety of science and technology topics, but one short piece about ‘techlash’ – the growing disgruntlement with giant technology companies – struck a particular chord. The article may be 20 months old but it’s still relevant, as are similar Economist and Politico items of similar vintage.

‘Techlash’ continues. Today everyone has more awareness of the ugly side of tech from giants like Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google and Chinese equivalents, and even more snail-paced European and US politicians are demanding tougher regulation and controls. None of this should be a surprise. Why? Because most things that are initially lauded to be good for business, people, or society eventually suffer some kind of ‘backlash’. Fossil fuels, plastics, deforestation, privatisation, globalisation, outsourcing and offshoring are cases in point. All have at some stage over the years been viewed as ‘good for business/society/people’ and have made helped raise living standards, but they’re now all subject to question or a ‘backlash’ of one kind or another.

So, what’s at the heart of this lifecycle of ‘progress’ followed by ‘backlash’? Human psychology. In particular, our herd instinct and desire for social conformity, as this short video neatly illustrates. We tend to go with the herd to stay safe, and when the herd gets spooked and changes direction for whatever reason then we do too!

The Badger returned the New Scientist to the magazine pile and then read a news item about AI and robotics on his smartphone. It made the Badger not only think about the Terminator films and the recent ‘I am Mother’ film, but also conclude that some kind of ‘backlash’ against AI and robots is inevitable in the future!

‘Backlash’ and ‘techlash’ are words that describe antagonistic reactions to problematic trends, developments or events. Such reactions are a response to a problem, and where there’s a problem there must be a wrongdoer to blame! So, who creates the problems that spawn any ‘backlash’ or indeed the current ‘techlash’? Look in the mirror and you’ll see the culprit. If we as individuals took more time to think, resisted the herd by being truer to our own feelings, instincts and beliefs from the outset, then the world will be a better place for everyone. The chances of that happening? Slim – because we are human.

Education – A powerful force wielded by a Jedi knight…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Climate & Environment, Education, Space, Technology, Uncategorized

Professor Brian Cox is currently embarked on his ‘Universal: Adventures in Space & Time’ World Tour. The Badger, and 4000 others from all walks of life, saw him when his tour came to Bournemouth recently. This preview gives a flavour of his show’s coverage, and the opening minutes of an actual show are here.

Brian spoke for over two hours, which might seem daunting if you think you’ll struggle with the underlying concepts of space, time, the big bang, general relativity, black holes and cosmology! But don’t be put off. The Professor is an excellent educator and communicator, and his show explains things simply and leaves you in awe of the Universe and our position in it. His tour moves to the Nordic countries next. If you get chance, go see it.

The show provides insight to the scale of our Galaxy and the whole Universe, and a reminder of just how insignificant our planet and humans are in the scale of things. It leaves you realising how important it is that our planet is sustainable because it’s delusional to think we have somewhere else to go! The Badger and friends chatted after the show. One made the point that while the Hubble telescope (for example) helps us to understand the Universe, the technology to put a human on Mars is not even a pin prick of the technology needed for ‘Star Trek’ space travel, so why bother? We concluded that technology development must always centre on the need for our planet to support sustainable life, rather than on consumerism, corporate power, convenience and commercial advantage. Idealistic? Perhaps. But there’s nothing wrong with that!

A few days later, Greta Thunberg spoke at the UN Climate Action Summit and the media was awash with pictures and comment. Her transcribed words are here. The Badger found himself not only wondering who’s behind this young lady, but also disagreeing with assertions about the betrayal of young people. (See also here and here). Perhaps Greta and the likes of Extinction Rebellion are approaching climate matters in the wrong way?

The Badger feels we need better, earlier, education that our planet and our species are but a speck of tiny dust in the scale of the Universe. When this is reinforced it becomes obvious that we create our own extinction if we don’t focus on our planet and technological developments dominated by planet sustainability. Education is a powerful force, and Professor Brian Cox wields that force like a Jedi knight. Put some of his tour show content into the school curriculum at an early age to influence the thinking of future generations and society and the planet will benefit…