Technology has been part of my life for a very long time. Fortunately, it keeps changing.
I’m an Australian technology entrepreneur, software industry veteran, author and occasional professional stirrer.
I’ve spent much of my working life building technology, running a software company, encouraging more people into the industry, speaking and writing about where technology is taking us — and trying to explain complicated things without making them sound complicated.
Along the way there have been a few adventures, a few controversies, some wonderful recognition and, most importantly, an extraordinary ringside seat as computing has transformed the world.
From software to AI — with quite a bit in between
My career began when technology was a rather different world from the one we know today.
In 1999 I founded my own software company, beginning a journey that has kept me closely involved with software development, technology entrepreneurship and the practical application of technology ever since.
Today, much of my curiosity has inevitably turned to artificial intelligence: not simply what AI can do, but how it can be made genuinely useful to people and organisations.
Different technology. Same fascination.
Technology is much more interesting when you talk about what it means for people.
Over the years I’ve written and spoken about technology in many forms, from academic publications and industry events to a long-running regular technology segment on ABC Radio.
Since 2016, I’ve also had the rather delightful opportunity to speak about technology aboard cruise ships around the world.
My favourite subjects are the ones that make people curious: artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, extraordinary inventions and those moments when yesterday’s science fiction quietly turns into today’s reality.
I don't believe understanding technology should require understanding technobabble. If people leave one of my talks knowing something they didn't know before and having laughed somewhere along the way, I'm happy.
