AI is already changing how work happens, how people are valued, and who holds power. Most of it isn’t obvious.
BASELINE is where that gets worked out.
Through conversations with founders, engineers, policymakers and operators, BASELINE explores what actually holds up when AI moves from theory into practice.
If you’re trying to understand what this means for your role, your organisation, or what comes next, this is what this is for.
For leadership teams, that same work also informs a fixed-scope BASELINE Execution Sprint, designed to turn organisational insight into clear, executable decisions.
If Something Goes Wrong… This Is All You Have - John Dodd
If something goes wrong at sea, there is no one coming to help you. The only thing that connects you to rescue… is a signal.
In this episode, I sit down with John Dodd from Inmarsat, part of Viasat, to understand what really happens when that signal is sent. This is about the systems that keep people alive when they are completely on their own. How they work, what they’re up against, and what it takes to make sure they don’t fail. Because out there… it has to work.
Subscribe to BASELINE if you’re trying to understand what AI is actually changing.
Is the AI bubble about to burst?
BASELINE explores what AI is changing in work, identity and power.
Over the last 12–18 months, more than $100 billion has been invested into AI. Talent has moved between the most advanced labs in the world. New companies have formed at multi-billion dollar valuations. The pace of technical progress has been extraordinary. But if you step back and look closely, a different pattern starts to emerge. There’s something missing.
This video breaks down what’s actually happened across the AI industry, from the rise of new “neo labs” to the movement of researchers between companies like OpenAI, Meta, and Google DeepMind, and why many of these organisations are still not product-led.
Subscribe to BASELINE if you’re trying to understand what AI is actually changing.
Your AI Strategy Won’t Survive This Shift - Bob De Caux
Enterprise AI adoption is accelerating, but implementation is proving far more difficult than expected. While organisations are investing heavily in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and large language models, many are struggling to translate capability into real operational impact. Bob De Caux is the Chief AI Officer (CAIO) at https://www.ifs.com
This conversation explores the gap between AI innovation and enterprise execution, covering the realities of AI strategy, organisational readiness, and the challenges of deploying AI systems at scale. Topics include AI transformation, enterprise architecture, data readiness, internal capability gaps, and the pressure on leadership teams to act before fully understanding the implications.
Drawing on real-world experience inside enterprise environments, this discussion breaks down why AI initiatives often stall, where companies are overestimating progress, and what needs to change for AI to deliver measurable value.
Subscribe to BASELINE for long-form conversations exploring AI, creativity, and human intelligence.
How To Actually Get Hired In AI Companies - William Excell
The AI job market is expanding rapidly, but most people still don’t know how to access it. In this episode, Ian sits down with William Excell, a recruiter working directly with AI startups and high-growth technology companies, to break down what is actually happening inside the hiring market. As AI reshapes how companies are built, teams are becoming smaller, faster, and more selective. The result is a fundamental shift in what companies look for and who gets hired.
This conversation explores the real dynamics behind AI hiring, including the skills that matter, how roles are evolving, and what candidates need to do to position themselves effectively. If you are trying to understand where you fit in the AI economy, this episode provides a clear and grounded perspective from inside the system.
Subscribe to BASELINE for long-form conversations exploring AI, creativity, and human intelligence.
The Emergence of Intelligence (And Why You’re Losing Your Edge) - Errol Rasit, Gartner
Errol Rasit is a Managing Vice President of Emerging Technologies Research at Gartner, where he advises global organisations on how technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud, and data infrastructure are reshaping business, decision-making, and human behaviour. With nearly two decades inside Gartner and leadership roles across research, product, and innovation, Errol brings a rare combination of deep technical insight and real-world enterprise perspective.
In this BASELINE conversation, we explore the emergence of intelligence through AI and what it actually means beyond the hype. From hyper-personalisation and AI-generated communication to the breakdown of trust, accountability, and human effort, this discussion goes deep into how behaviour is already changing at scale. We cover the rise of generative AI, the ChatGPT effect, and how organisations are restructuring around agentic systems.
Errol shares why ease of use is driving mass adoption, how accuracy drift creates long-term risk, and why ongoing human oversight still matters. We also explore decentralised data ownership, privacy trade-offs, and the growing role of AI in healthcare, retail, and everyday decision-making.
Subscribe to BASELINE for long-form conversations exploring AI, creativity, and human intelligence.
I Didn’t Expect AI to Save So Much Money - Rob Paton
For a long time, creativity, marketing, and software were separate, outsourced functions. AI is collapsing those boundaries. In this conversation with independent brand consultant and creative Rob Paton, we explore what changes when execution becomes fast, cheap, and accessible to everyone. We talk about why traditional agency models are under pressure, why creativity still matters but shows up differently, and how AI-assisted tools are shifting work in-house.
From branding and production to custom software and “vibe coding,” this episode looks at what happens when teams can build directly instead of buying capability. We also ground the discussion in a real case study from a heating installation business, showing how AI-assisted tools can remove bottlenecks, reduce cost, and change how decisions get made.
Subscribe to BASELINE for long-form conversations exploring AI, creativity, and human intelligence.
The Algorithmic Leap | AI, Innovation, and the Rules of the Game - Dr John Fletcher
In BASELINE052, Ian Smith sits down with Dr John Fletcher an Oxford, Imperial, and Cambridge-trained physicist and Chief Scientist at The Innovation Game. John is not just a world-class academic - he’s a rare innovator who bridges the gap between research and real-world impact.
At The Innovation Game, he is building technology that creates genuine competitive advantage, not just another layer of AI hype. His work proves how algorithms can solve critical problems in logistics, medicine, and science showing that the future of AI is about application, not buzzwords.
Artificial Intelligence: Utopia or dystopia?