Jon Hammant, The Fourth Industrial Revolution, and keeping productive in a hyper-connected world

In this conversation, Jon Hammond discusses the impact of technology on society and the challenges and opportunities it presents.

Takeaways

• The fourth industrial revolution is characterized by the convergence of various technologies, such as AI, cloud computing, and quantum computing.
• Focus and productivity are crucial in a hyper-connected world, and individuals can leverage tools like task lists and time blocking to optimize their performance.
• AI-powered attacks, such as spearfishing through deepfakes, pose significant risks, and organizations need to be vigilant and implement robust security measures.
• The future of AI holds both promise and challenges, with the potential to augment human capabilities and improve productivity, but also requiring careful oversight and governance. Learn from the negative effects of social media and strive for a better future.
• Promote diversity in AI models to ensure fairness and avoid concentration of power.
• Balance regulation and innovation in AI development to foster progress while ensuring safety.
• Optimize for learning and personal growth to adapt to the rapidly changing world.
• Embrace failure and take risks to discover new opportunities and make a positive impact.
• Continuously learn and stay curious to keep up with the evolving landscape of technology.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

02:38 The Fourth Industrial Revolution

08:14 Overcoming Challenges and Leveraging Strengths

11:31 Productivity and Cognitive Load

16:06 The Impact of Technology on Attention and Focus

20:48 The Acceleration of Technological Revolutions

23:07 The Implications of AI and Automation

30:36 The Evolution of Technology and Its Impact on Society

33:49 The Rise of AI-Powered Attacks

35:43 The Future of AI and Augmented Humanity

36:15 The Challenges of Oversight and Governance

37:22 The Negative Effects of Social Media

39:52 Learning from the Social Media Era

41:48 The Importance of Diversity in AI Models

44:09 The Future of AI: Diversity and Openness

46:16 Balancing Regulation and Innovation in AI

49:03 Optimizing for Learning and Personal Growth

52:31 The Role of Testing in AI Development

54:49 Taking Initiative and Doing the Right Thing

57:10 Embracing Failure and Taking Risks

01:01:35 The Importance of Continuous Learning

Jon leads the Specialist business for AWS for UKIR, including AI/ML, Compute, Storage, , HPC, Networking, Autonomous vehicles, Quantum Computing, and more. Prior to joining AWS, Jon was a Managing Director at Accenture where he led the DevOps and Full Stack Engineering business in the UK, as well as being responsible for their Global DevOps Service. His work was recognized by the Computing magazine in 2020, when he was voted the DevOps Manager of the year for the UK. He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society, has a 2:1 in Computer Science from Reading University, and received an A in A-Level Computer science at age 13. He is passionate about diversity and neurodiversity and speaks about the subject regularly to raise awareness. 

> Any links you want to share

https://partyrock.aws/

https://aws.amazon.com/bedrock/

https://culturedcode.com/things/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thousand-Brains-New-Theory-Intelligence/dp/1541675819

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2401.02994.pdf

> How to contact you 

jon@hammant.io

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jhammant