Does Copilot in Excel work for anybody? Anecdotally, nobody I know finds it useful. Queries very rarely work. On the odd occasion it does, the answers are not dependable and may incorporate hallucinated (aka incorrect) data. Colleagues are more enthusiastic about its potential in other applications like Outlook and Teams. Yippee! I’m not one of …
I was a very late adopter of AI, always the skeptic. Then, about six months ago, I got pulled in by the hype despite being naturally hype-resistant. At that point, I jumped in headfirst, thinking, wow, this is awesome, diving deep. But latterly, the hype has begun to wear off as I see and experience …
The question of whether large language models are truly intelligent — or simply advanced pattern recognisers — continues to fascinate and divide opinion. Well, of course, for intelligence itself is difficult to define. Intelligence typically involves processing information, problem-solving, learning, communication, and possibly self-awareness. By these measures, AI excels at some aspects — especially information processing …
I’ve been pondering the curious contradictions in British tech policy lately. It’s almost as if the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. The government has recently pushed through legislation requiring tech companies to break end-to-end encryption — effectively demanding backdoors into secure communications. Meanwhile, they’re proudly announcing plans for substantial investments …
Interacting with AI, I’m struck by a profound paradox: these systems can discuss complex ideas and present them coherently, yet they lack true understanding. They generate responses based on patterns in language and probability rather than genuine comprehension, self-awareness, or independent thought. What an AI “says” isn’t because it knows or believes something — it’s …
Artificial intelligence (AI) frequently generates discussions about potential biases, particularly regarding complex topics like philosophy and religion. A persistent claim circulating online suggests that when asked which religion is the most coherent, AI systems — particularly large language models like ChatGPT — consistently favour Islam. One recent example is a video by Paul Williams of …
I was abroad during the riots in the UK last summer. To the outside world, it seemed like Britain was on the brink of catastrophe. The arrests and swift prison sentences that followed, sometimes for social media posts, were presented by detractors as Britain’s descent into authoritarianism. To the outside world, it was a battle …
How strange that Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Hasan al-Basri, Sufyan al-Thawri and many others besides saw leadership not as an honour but as a heavy burden. Unlike today’s leaders, they feared being unjust or failing in their duties before God, mindful that leadership will be a cause of regret on the Day of Judgement. …
There must be a better way to manage the transfer of power in a country than wait until you are either deposed or killed. How about a rule that you can serve a maximum of two terms in office and no more? That way, power is less likely to go to your head, giving you …
“Greenbelt under threat!” declares the Conservative Party flier pushed through the letterbox. This from the party that ripped up an area of outstanding natural beauty to build HS2. Have they already forgotten that voters gave them a kicking for that, handing their safe seat to the LibDems?
Do the wealthy tech reviewers espousing the necessity of upgrading to the latest and greatest chipsets to edit YouTube videos know anything about using media proxies? Could it be that you can get by perfectly well with your decade-old tech, simply by learning how to use your software as real professionals do? Too many tech …
Out of town retail parks and eCommerce are to blame for the death of the high street. Those foreign shops are the only units keeping the high street alive. Well, those and charity shops. Blame the billionaires.
A colleague decided to dispense with diplomacy today when they commented on my dreary, monotonous voice. I was delivering training to a group when they told me I sound like someone who just can’t be bothered, mimicking me before the group. To my relief, another colleague assured her that it’s just my Yorkshire manner, while …
