BASELINE: How Innovation Really Happens

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.BASELINE uncovers how AI and technology are transforming business, creativity, and society.

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/enThis 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.

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.

The global talent market is changing faster than most companies realise.For decades, careers followed a predictable path: education, corporate ladder, promotion, leadership. But AI, automation, and network-driven hiring are quietly rewriting the rules of work.In this episode of BASELINE, Ian Smith sits down with Gene Allmark-Kent, a senior executive search leader at Wilton & Bain, to unpack what is really happening behind the scenes of the global hiring market.

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 episode of BASELINE, Ian speaks with accountant and finance transformation specialist Michael Loizou about the human side of financial decision-making. As AI tools begin analysing financial data, generating reports, and assisting with forecasting, many people assume the role of accountants will simply become automated.Michael sees it differently.Drawing on years of experience working with founders and organisations, he argues that financial systems may process the numbers, but understanding those numbers requires context, judgment, and trusted relationships.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how markets operate, how companies hire, and how consumers make decisions. But beneath the headlines about productivity and automation lies a deeper question: what happens when human labour is no longer required to sustain the economy?In this conversation with Rodrigo Perez-Vega from Henley Business School, we explore how AI is reshaping consumer behaviour, employment, and even demographic trends. If consumption fuels economic growth but AI reduces the need for human work, the foundations of our economic systems begin to shift.

AI is changing who has the leverage to act - and who doesn’t.This conversation explores what that shift means for climate, work, and who gets to build next.. https://nyamiralabs.aiIn this conversation, Justin Keeble reflects on his career at the intersection of technology, sustainability, and business strategy, and why he chose to leave a senior corporate role to build something new.We explore how AI is being used inside real organisations today to measure, optimise, and make decisions across complex systems. From data centres and energy use, to supply chains, compliance, and sustainability targets that are currently off track.The discussion moves beyond hype into questions of agency, responsibility, and intent. Who gets access to these tools. How leverage is shifting from institutions to individuals. And why being deliberate matters as AI becomes embedded in how decisions are made.

We thought decentralisation would protect value. Bitcoin promised credible neutrality, but incentives reshaped it. Liquidity won. Ideology lost. In this conversation, John Fletcher explains why proof-of-work security models are structurally fragile, how Tether quietly undermined the neutrality of Bitcoin, and why incentive design always dominates belief systems. Then the discussion turns to AI. Large language models already contain the world’s written knowledge, but they do not yet fully possess tacit human intuition.

Modern economies were built on a simple assumption: intelligence, expertise, and judgement were scarce.That assumption no longer holds.In this conversation, economist S Asieh Tabaghdehi, PhD explores how AI is reshaping labour markets, destabilising human capital, and quietly breaking the assumptions modern economies were built on.We discuss why entry-level knowledge work is being replaced first, why skills and credentials no longer offer the protection people expect, and why education systems and institutions are structurally unable to keep pace with the speed of AI capability.

Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept or a laboratory experiment. It is embedded in our interfaces, shaping how we think, decide and act.In this episode of BASELINE, I sit down with Esra Kasapoglu to explore what happens when knowledge becomes abundant, agency becomes distributed, and AI moves from being a tool to becoming what she calls a “cognitive prosthetic.”We discuss how generative AI is reshaping power structures inside corporations, governments and everyday life. If everyone now has access to knowledge, where does real power sit? Who designs the incentives that shape behaviour? And what does it actually mean for a country to become an “AI superpower”?

https://tig.foundationIn this episode of BASELINE, Ian speaks with Ying Chan, CTO of The Innovation Game. As AI accelerates software development, much of the conversation focuses on speed. But speed does not make systems resilient. Incentives do. The Innovation Game is a protocol designed to incentivise the development of state-of-the-art algorithms through open participation. Innovators submit code. Benchmarkers evaluate performance. Incentives shape behaviour. The strongest solutions emerge. Ying explains why AI-generated code is a powerful tool for first-pass execution, but not a substitute for strategic thinking or adversarial design. While models can interpolate from existing knowledge, pushing the frontier still requires human judgment, intuition, and carefully aligned incentives.

3/3 - If AI systems are going to be used in the real world, they have to work. This final film in the UK AI Reality series focuses on where generative AI projects actually succeed or fail, and why trust, quality, and control matter more than capability or scale. Jack Perschke speaks from direct experience about delivery, governance, auditability, and the practical constraints that shape whether AI systems can be relied on in public services and critical infrastructure. Rather than debating futures or hypotheticals, the conversation stays grounded in how systems behave once they are deployed, and what it takes to make them dependable over time. This is where the series closes, not with opinion, but with operational reality.

2/3 - Most conversations about AI assume someone is in control. This one questions that assumption. In this second film in the UK AI Reality series, the discussion moves beyond the founder and into the systems that shape national infrastructure, public services, and technological risk. Jack Perschke speaks candidly about how decisions around cloud, platforms, and AI are often responses to circumstance rather than deliberate strategy, and what it means when core infrastructure is dominated by a small number of global players. The conversation ranges from sovereignty and public sector delivery to governance, risk, and the practical realities of building systems people can actually trust. This isn’t a debate about policy. It’s a look at how things really get decided, and what happens when they don’t.

1/3 - There is only one condition necessary for a business to exist: someone has to be willing to pay. This conversation steps away from the public narrative around UK AI and into the quieter reality of what it actually takes to build an early-stage AI company. Jack Perschke speaks plainly about funding, venture bias, domain expertise, and hiring in a global labour market, drawing a clear line between what looks coherent from the outside and what feels very different on the inside. There is no case study here and no success story to emulate, just a grounded account of how decisions get made when capital is selective, expectations are high, and execution matters. This is the first of three short films, and it sets up the wider question of who really defines the economics as AI moves from ambition into infrastructure.

For a long time, creativity, marketing, and software were separate, outsourced functions.AI is quietly 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.This is not a debate about tools.It’s a conversation about judgement, responsibility, and what organisations choose to keep inside when making becomes easy.

This conversation is grounded in lived operational history. Simon Reid implemented the world’s first satellite operations automation system for EUMETSAT in 1990, and three decades later led the first commercial in-orbit AI automation platform with AWS and ESA, a system later used for real experiments by third parties. What follows isn’t speculation about AI in space, but insight shaped by decades of building systems that actually fly.Space is no longer a distant frontier. It is critical infrastructure.In this episode of BASELINE, Ian speaks with Simon Reid, CTO at Space DOTS, about why modern space systems have become too complex for humans to manage alone and what that means for satellites, data, trust, and decision-making.As Low Earth Orbit becomes more crowded and more contested, the risks are no longer just physical collisions. They include invisible threats such as radiation, signal interference, degradation, spoofing, and cascading failure across systems we depend on every day.Simon explains how the space industry is undergoing a quiet shift:from hardware-first thinking to data-first systems,from manual oversight to machine-driven inference,and from isolated sensors to aggregated, trust-based intelligence.

From 2026, the EU AI Act changes what accountability means for AI systems.For high-risk AI use cases, organisations will be expected to demonstrate traceability, record-keeping, and oversight. In practice, this means being able to show what an AI system did, why it did it, and who was responsible. Logs alone are no longer enough.In this episode of BASELINE, Martin Gibson explains why most organisations will not fail AI compliance because they lack data, but because they cannot reconstruct a defensible story across systems and time.We explore: • Why logs are not the same as evidence • What the EU AI Act actually expects in practice • Record-keeping, retention, and traceability for AI systems • Why AI compliance is a systems and infrastructure problem • How organisations get trapped by fragmentation and vendor lock-in • What it means to build AI systems you can defend under audit or investigationThis is a practical, operator-focused conversation for teams building, deploying, or governing AI in real organisations.

In this episode of BASELINE, filmmaker Archie Brooksbank reflects on storytelling, music, and the human connections that shape how we feel, remember, and act. Drawing on his work across film, sport, and culture, including projects involving figures such as Lionel Messi, Jamie Redknapp, and Lewis Hamilton, as well as collaborations with teams and brands including Red Bull Racing, Aston Martin, and McLaren, Archie explores why interaction, trust, and presence matter more than perfection. As AI and automation accelerate across the creative industries, this conversation asks a deeper question: what happens if we replace human experience with efficiency? This is not a discussion about tools or technology trends. It is a reflection on why storytelling has always been a shared human act, and why some things cannot be automated.

Artificial intelligence is already shaping organisations, governments, and public services. Many of the most important AI decisions are being made by default rather than by design.In this episode of BASELINE, Ian speaks with Jonny Williams, Chief Digital Adviser to the UK Public Sector at Red Hat, about why AI feels confusing, why value feels elusive, and why leadership matters more than models.This conversation explores the real architecture behind AI systems, how technology stacks align with national interests, and why transparency and openness are now prerequisites for trust. Jonny explains why AI is not primarily a technical challenge, but a leadership and operating model challenge, closer to the role of a COO than a CTO.Topics include AI sovereignty, Wardley mapping, open versus closed models, national infrastructure, mechanised government, digital identity, and why organisations risk losing agency if they allow AI decisions to drift to technologists alone.

AI is influencing how we work, how we communicate and how we make decisions. But the deeper change is personal. It affects our values, our identity and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.In this episode, Professor Kevin Money explores how identity is formed, why it feels fragile during rapid change and what helps people stay grounded in an AI influenced world. Kevin is a behavioural scientist and Co-Director of the John Madejski Centre for Reputation at Henley Business School. His research focuses on identity, reputation, motivation, trust and responsible leadership. He advises the UK Government, global businesses and nonprofit organisations on how people think, feel and act.This conversation looks at the psychology behind identity, emotional labour, belonging and the impact of trauma. It also considers how AI amplifies uncertainty and what we can do to stay anchored to our values while the world around us changes.

In an age of automation, some things can still only be seen by experience. Roger Bradbury spent decades inside UK construction before building the software he wished existed. His story shows how hard-won intuition, lived knowledge and human judgement still outperform the machine when it matters most.This BASELINE conversation explores the reality behind construction’s complexity, why software has historically failed the industry, and what Roger learned building a platform trusted by thousands of operatives. He explains how private equity approached him, what they were really looking for, and why real-world edge cases still break even the smartest systems.Roger shares a moment that changed everything for him: a foundation calculation that looked mathematically correct but instinctively wrong. One call to an experienced engineer exposed the limits of pure data and revealed the deeper truth of the episode: AI scales, but experience still decides.

https://www.space-dots.comLow Earth Orbit is getting crowded, chaotic and harder to manage. In this episode, Space DOTS founder Bianca Cefalo explains why satellites are failing, why 90 percent of orbital anomalies have no known cause, and how space weather and hidden threats are reshaping the environment above Earth. We explore the reality of Kessler syndrome, rapid material degradation, non kinetic attacks and why current data is no longer enough.This is the intelligence layer we need for the next decade of space operations.

https://leilapr.comAI generated content now floods every feed, and journalists are overwhelmed with synthetic pitches, misinformation and noise. In this episode, PR strategist Leila H joins me to reveal how real influence actually works in 2025. We explore what breaks through in the modern media landscape, why chasing the algorithm is a losing strategy, and how journalists choose the most interesting comment over the most senior voice. Leila shows why some stories generate thousands of reactions within an hour, how emotional content still drives attention, and why brands fail when they rely on AI to create generic pitches. We discuss PR, media trust, AI creators, the future of influence, the hidden power behind the feed, and the new rules for getting seen when the internet is saturated with bots, auto-generated content and hyper-personalised news feeds. If you want to understand what breaks through in a world shaped by PR, AI and algorithms, this is the episode to watch.

As algorithms begin to decide what we see, believe, and even feel, one right becomes more important than any other - the right to think freely.Susie Alegre has spent her career fighting for that freedom. From the United Nations and Amnesty International to global courtrooms and parliaments, she has defended the idea that human thought itself must remain beyond the reach of governments and machines.In this conversation, she and Ian explore the frontline of cognitive liberty from AI bias and behavioural micro-targeting to the legal “reset” that could define the next century. Alegre argues that freedom of thought is an absolute human right as fundamental as the bans on slavery and torture and she shows how we can still reclaim it before it’s rewritten by code.

Is the AI boom a repeat of the dot-com bubble or something entirely new? In this episode of BASELINE, Ian sits down with Danvers Baillieu: tech lawyer, startup operator, and co-founder of GVT Labs to explore what’s real and what’s hype inside the AI bubble. From advising early internet founders and co-creating Bootlaw, to scaling Hide My Ass VPN and InfoSum, Danvers has lived through every wave of digital disruption. Together they unpack how privacy, regulation, and trust are colliding with the speed of automation, and why AI’s foundations may be stronger than the markets think.#AIBubble #DotComDejaVu #BaselinePodcast #ArtificialIntelligence #Startups #TechEconomy

In this episode, Ian Smith speaks with Joe Tannorella, founder of PodEngine.ai, about the collapse of authenticity in modern media and why AI isn’t to blame. They explore how automation, marketing, and search are reshaping creativity, and why human connection has become the rarest commodity in technology.The discussion moves from the mediocrity of generative AI to the power of conversational knowledge inside enterprises, from the death of traditional SEO to the rise of intelligent discovery. Together, they question why audiences no longer trust corporate media, how creators now outperform global brands, and what happens when the internet itself becomes synthetic.

In The Age of Imperfect Machines, global InsurTech leader Dr. Magda Ramada Sarasola (WTW) joins BASELINE to explore one of the most overlooked questions in the AI revolution:What happens when AI fails and how do we insure against it?From the fear of the first elevators to today’s non-deterministic AI systems, this conversation uncovers why innovation doesn’t come from eliminating risk, but from learning how to live with it.Magda explains how the insurance industry has always enabled progress by absorbing uncertainty so society can keep moving forward and how that same principle now underpins AI assurance, accountability, and agentic systems.BASELINE exposes the truth behind AI’s unstoppable rise. In-depth interviews with AI experts, real analysis, and insights you can trust on the technology reshaping our world.

For thirty years, Robin Christopherson MBE has shown how technology can remove barriers and bring people in. As Head of Digital Inclusion at AbilityNet, he helped shape the tools that transformed accessibility - screen readers, voice control, and adaptive interfaces that became the foundation for modern computing.Now a new paradox is emerging. The same systems that once empowered people could begin to replace them. AI can already triage patients, interview candidates, and make complex decisions in milliseconds. But who decides where the human boundary sits and who can be trusted to draw it?

Digital identity is no longer just about logging in, it’s about who and what we trust in a world where AI agents are multiplying faster than humans.In this episode of BASELINE, I speak with Jacoby Thwaites, ex-Google technologist and now CTO of Magic ID. We dive into the UK’s plans for mandatory digital ID by 2029, Switzerland’s national e-ID referendum, and why identity has become the #1 attack vector in cyber security.Jacoby explains why humans today are “ghosts in the digital world,” why bots already outnumber humans online, and how trusted communities could give people and AI equal standing in digital society.

What does it really mean for the UK to become an “AI superpower”? In this episode of BASELINE, James Robson, former Data Protection Officer for the Labour Party (2023–2025), goes inside the hype and the reality. From protecting the most sensitive political data in Britain, to assessing the impact of billions in AI investment, James brings a unique perspective on how artificial intelligence will reshape jobs, democracy, and trust in government.

AI can now trigger real infrastructure changes, not just surface insights. But can you really trust it to touch production? In this episode of BASELINE, Rodney Foreman from Itential introduces the MCP Server: a new orchestration and control layer that allows AI agents, LLMs, and AIOps platforms to take real-world action with policy enforcement, validation, and full guardrails. We explore what the Model Context Protocol (MCP) is, how Itential connects AI systems to infrastructure safely, and why trust—not speed—is the real unlock for enterprise AI. With real-world examples like Selector and Lumen, this conversation shows how automation, compliance, and coordination are finally converging. If your AI strategy stops at insights, this episode will show you what’s next.

Dr Michael Barros brings a rare blend of scientific depth and human clarity. From showing us why every neuron is important to revealing how electroceuticals could transform medicine and how true intelligence is embodied, he turns complex frontiers of neuroscience into ideas anyone can grasp. His work at the University of Essex and the Alan Turing Institute is pioneering, but more than that, he speaks with humility and hope about the future of humanity and AI. This is one of those conversations that makes you rethink what it means to be alive, to learn, and to imagine what comes next.

Mike Lewis has spent over two decades uncovering the hidden inefficiencies that quietly drain millions from organisations. As Managing Director at Equantiis, his calm, pragmatic approach focuses on what others miss - the small inefficiencies that, once fixed, transform performance, morale, and growth.In this conversation, we explore how AI can help eliminate those overlooked problems, why fear and hype often distract from the real work, and how finding just a few minutes of wasted time can unlock massive value.

Martin Bishop, former Chief Technologist for UK Public Sector at AWS, joins Baseline to explore what really works when governments and enterprises adopt AI.We talk about why embracing pilot failure is key to progress, how two-person teams are now winning seven-figure government tenders, and what legacy estates mean for transformation. Martin also shares lessons from AWS, UK public sector procurement, sovereignty, education, and delivery at scale including how he helped stand up vaccine infrastructure in a single weekend.If you want to know what’s hype, what’s real, and how to turn AI into lasting progress, this episode is for you.BASELINE exposes the truth behind AI’s unstoppable rise. In-depth interviews with AI experts, real analysis, and insights you can trust on the technology reshaping our world.

In BASELINE052, Ian Smith sits down with Dr John Fletcher - 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.BASELINE exposes the truth behind AI’s unstoppable rise. In-depth interviews with AI experts, real analysis, and insights you can trust on the technology reshaping our world.https://www.tig.foundation

Venture capital is changing fast and the next wave of fundraising will be powered by data, AI, and intelligent matching between founders and investors. In Part 2 of this BASELINE conversation, Daniel Sawko (CEO of ShipShape VC) shares how hyper-contextual investor search can save founders from wasted meetings, how AI will reshape deal flow, and why frontier markets like space and defence are creating entirely new funding dynamics. From the Mira Murati fundraise for Thinking Machines to the rise of LP intelligence and decentralised VC, this episode is essential for founders, VCs, and LPs looking ahead at the future of capital allocation.EPISODE CHAPTERS:00:00 – Cold open: Smarter fundraising for a new era02:00 – AI hype cycles and misaligned pitching10:15 – Investor–founder fit vs product–market fit19:40 – New frontiers: space, defence, and AGI-era funding33:20 – LP search and decentralising venture capital45:00 – The intelligent future of fundraising

What happens when AI meets a healthcare system in crisis? Learn what’s real, what’s hype, and how tech could transform care without losing compassion.00:00 – Intro: AI in Healthcare, Hype vs. Humanity01:12 – Meet Rhonda Siddall: Freelance Medical Writer02:54 – The Human Dimension of AI Deployment05:10 – The NHS in Crisis: Burnout, Compassion & Reality07:48 – Predictive AI in Diagnosis: COPD & RA10:32 – Efficiency vs Empathy: What Are We Optimising?12:01 – Hidden Bias in Health Data: Women Left Behind14:45 – Can AI Understand Emotion and Shame?17:02 – Utopia or Dystopia: Rhonda’s Final Reflection19:32 – Final Thoughts & Viewer Call to Action

Most founders spend up to 50% of their time trying to raise money — but many pitch to the wrong investors, burning time and relationships without results. In Part 1 of this BASELINE conversation, Daniel Sawko, CEO of ShipShape VC, explains why fundraising has become theatre, why warm intros dominate venture capital access, and how early-stage startups can focus on building traction instead of chasing the wrong capital. This is a must-watch for founders who want to stop wasting time and get investor-fit right from day one.EPISODE CHAPTERS:00:00 – Cold open: Selling a cruise ship to an ice cream van01:40 – Why traditional fundraising is broken09:10 – Networks, warm intros, and VC access18:45 – The pressure to perform vs building a real business27:30 – Fundraising as sales: marketing your equity to the wrong market38:15 – Why founders should prioritise customers over capital

AI is no longer a tool - it’s a battleground. In this second part of BASELINE043, Paul Jenkinson, founder of Whitespace, reveals how AI is being weaponised, why 93% of Europe’s infrastructure runs on foreign systems, and what it means for UK sovereignty, defence, and trust. From briefing Number 10 to building inside the MoD, this is a rare look into the real stakes of national AI strategy.EPISODE CHAPTERS:00:00 – The AI arms race has already begun03:15 – Weaponising generative AI: the Number 10 briefing08:47 – Why infrastructure matters more than models14:32 – The trust deficit inside public AI systems20:15 – 93% of Europe’s cloud runs on US infrastructure25:04 – Can the UK afford to wait on sovereign capability?31:18 – Auditable, ethical, and trusted AI: a new frontier36:50 – Closing thoughts: power, risk, and responsibility

Patrick Sheehan is one of Europe’s most experienced sustainability investors. In this special 50th episode of BASELINE, we explore the collision of AI, climate, infrastructure, and early-stage venture capital — and what it means for those trying to build or back the future.Patrick founded ETF Partners, backed transformative startups like Open Cosmos and Cubbit, and has been investing in tech infrastructure since the early days of 3i. In this episode, he reflects on cost curves, AI’s energy demands, and the hard-earned lessons from his time working alongside American venture giants like Hambrecht & Quist.EPIOSODE LINK:https://etfpartners.capital/articles/etf-partners-the-intelligence-layer/EPISODE CHAPTERS:00:00 — Intro: BASELINE hits 50 & why this episode is different01:10 — Climate isn’t a sector — it’s a force reshaping every industry03:15 — Space cost curves & the logic of first-mover advantage05:12 — Starlink, Open Cosmos & Europe’s space momentum06:48 — Cubbit & why energy-efficient infrastructure is critical for AI09:25 — Bubbles, AI hype & why real value lies in infrastructure11:03 — Patrick’s story: from 3i to founding ETF Partners12:10 — Climate urgency, cost myths & seizing the moment13:25 — Human-first AI & investing with purpose14:40 — Optimism, Silicon Valley stories & what happens next

Louis Knight-Webb combines technical brilliance with rare composure.As co-founder of bloop.ai and a Y Combinator S21 alum, Louis is building AI tools that don’t just touch legacy systems - they understand them. From mainframes to COBOL, his team is using generative models to translate decades-old infrastructure into clear, maintainable modern code.In this BASELINE episode, Louis breaks down:– Why mainframes still power trillions in daily transactions– How AI can turn legacy code into natural language – The real blockers in enterprise modernisation (and how to overcome them)– Why modernisation is about translation, not disruptionEPISODE CHAPTERS:00:00 – Intro: Why legacy still matters01:00 – Mainframes, batch jobs, and modern AI03:00 – Louis on Y Combinator and the founder mindset08:30 – What bloop actually does14:00 – AI vs enterprise systems: reality check21:00 – Turning COBOL into natural language28:00 – Real-time systems, Kafka, and the death of the calendar35:00 – Technical debt, team knowledge, and scaling modernisation43:00 – Future-looking: language models, trust, and quantum51:00 – Final reflections: calm innovation and quiet disruption

Professor Reinhold Scherer is Head of the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at the University of Essex and a global leader in brain-computer interface (BCI) research. In this episode of BASELINE, he explains how BCIs are already restoring movement, hearing, and communication, and what it means when we begin connecting human brains to machines.We explore the ethics of neural implants, the rise of synthetic intelligence, and how tools like ChatGPT are reshaping memory, attention, and human thought. From non-invasive brainwave decoding to the psychological impact of cognitive outsourcing, this conversation reveals what happens when machines do more than serve us - they begin to shape us.00:00 – Intro: Brain chips, AI, and the future of human thought 10:00 – How close are we to real brain-computer interfaces20:00 – Can neural implants change who we are? 31:00 – Memory, cognition, and outsourcing thinking to AI41:00 – Brain plasticity and the hidden risks of generative tools 51:00 – Synthetic intelligence and redefining what it means to learn 1:02:00 – Consciousness, simulation, and identity1:12:00 – Final thoughts: trust, creativity, and human agency

Thanasis Mandaltsis shares a deeply human perspective on the future of digital identity. Drawing from his Greek upbringing and career at Onfido and iov42, he explores why trust, community, and participation not data extraction must form the foundation of our digital lives. From agentic AI and smart servers to post-COVID collapse of real-world communities, we unpack how the ancient Greek idea of the polis might hold the key to designing tech that serves people, not platforms.If you’ve ever felt displaced by the speed of AI or invisible inside digital systems, this conversation will feel like a blueprint for a different kind of future.EPISODE LINKS: https://magic-id.comCHAPTERS:00:00 – Intro: The Polis and the Human Web04:25 – Game Theory and Why Small Groups Win07:55 – China, Control, and the Western Mirror18:42 – How Magic ID Works (Real Example)22:30 – Why AI Mirrors You — and That’s a Problem26:10 – Agentic AI and Your Digital Self30:05 – The Trouble with Web3 Incentives37:00 – Greek Communities, US Platforms, and Local Resilience40:30 – Building Viral Trust at Human Scale47:10 – The Race for Narrative Control52:30 – Final Reflection: Rebuilding the Polis

Dr Paul Dongha was studying intelligent agents before most people had internet access. Today, he leads Responsible AI at NatWest, shaping how artificial intelligence supports financial customers while protecting trust. In this conversation, Paul unpacks how GenAI is changing the relationship between banks and individuals, why emotional AI must be treated with caution, and how his 1996 PhD on goal-directed agents is now shockingly relevant. We explore what it means to act ethically with AI, how regulation and innovation can coexist, and why the future of finance might look more like a conversation than a transaction.BASELINE exposes the truth behind AI’s unstoppable rise. In-depth interviews with AI experts, real analysis, and insights you can trust on the technology reshaping our world.EPISODE LINKS:https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/governing-the-machine-9781399426299/EPISODE CHAPTERS:00:00 – Intro: Paul Dongha and 30 years of AI04:15 – From PhD to agentic AI in the enterprise10:35 – What AI is (and what it isn’t)16:22 – Emotional AI, trust and digital relationships22:10 – Responsible autonomy and personal assistants26:44 – Stripe’s model breakthrough and financial ethics32:02 – Regulating innovation and NatWest’s approach37:55 – Personalisation, banking apps, and AI futures43:10 – Utopia? Final reflections

Stephen Russell leads data, strategy, and technology at Warwickshire Police and he’s one of the most thoughtful voices in the UK on how AI can support, not replace, frontline policing. In this episode of BASELINE, we dive deep into the real challenges officers face today: from overwhelming digital paperwork to rising cybercrime. With calm clarity, Stephen shares how AI tools like generative assistants and predictive analytics are already being tested to give time back to officers and protect public trust.We explore the national coordination effort across 43 forces, the ethics of facial recognition, and what it means to police by consent in an age of AI. From cold cases to call centres, the future of law enforcement is changing fast and Stephen is helping shape it with care. This conversation is for anyone interested in responsible AI, public service innovation, or how we build technology that works for everyone.EPISODE CHAPTERS:00:00 – The Moral Duty Behind AI in Policing02:00 – A Different Path to the Force07:00 – When AI Stopped Being Theory12:00 – Blocking ChatGPT at Work17:00 – Policing AI Misuse and Deepfakes23:00 – Cutting the Digital Paperwork Burden30:00 – Predictive Policing and Public Consent36:00 – Building National AI Standards42:00 – Augmenting Officers, Not Replacing Them50:00 – The Future of Trust in an AI AgeCONTACT IAN:Web: https://www.baselinepodcast.com/Email: [email protected]#AI #Technology #FutureOfWork #Innovation #HumanConnection #BASELINE #Podcast #Entrepreneurship #Networking #Influence

What if we stopped designing technology for the average user and started designing for the people most often left out? Amy Low is Chief Executive of AbilityNet, a UK charity that helps people with disabilities use tech to live, work and thrive. In this episode, she joins BASELINE to expose the scale of digital exclusion, explain how AI is both a risk and an opportunity, and share a powerful new vision: inclusive design from the edges in.From AI glasses that help a blind father read to his daughter, to the 94% of websites that still fail basic accessibility checks - this is a conversation about empathy, systems, and the real future of human-AI connection.BASELINE exposes the truth behind AI’s unstoppable rise. In-depth interviews with AI experts, real analysis, and insights you can trust on the technology reshaping our world.00:00 – AI is more profound than fire06:40 – How AbilityNet supports people16:05 – Why accessibility must be designed in18:42 – AI glasses and the power of Be My Eyes27:33 – Spiky profiles and supporting neurodivergence34:20 – The workplace after COVID36:18 – Bias, hiring, and the myth of presenteeism39:11 – Why “disabled” doesn’t mean “less capable”41:45 – Simulation, joy, and digital purpose47:30 – The case for designing from the edges50:10 – Will AI take us to utopia or dystopia?CONTACT IAN:Web: https://www.baselinepodcast.com/Email: [email protected]#AI #Technology #FutureOfWork #Innovation #HumanConnection #BASELINE #Podcast #Entrepreneurship #Networking #Influence

AI isn’t a product anymore - it’s infrastructure. In Part 1 of BASELINE043, Paul Jenkinson, founder of Whitespace, shares how he built a sovereign AI company trusted by the UK government and embedded inside the Ministry of Defence. Paul’s approach is pragmatic, unsentimental, and laser-focused on value: build fast, build with trust, and stay close to the mission. From breaking free of SaaS thinking to operating inside high-stakes public systems, this is a rare blueprint for founders building where speed, integrity and national interest collide.BASELINE exposes the truth behind AI’s unstoppable rise. In-depth interviews with AI experts, real analysis, and insights you can trust on the technology reshaping our world.CONTACT IAN:Web: https://www.baselinepodcast.com/Email: [email protected]:00 – Intro: What sovereign AI actually means04:10 – SaaS is over: the shift to services at the frontier08:33 – Building with clients inside government13:25 – Lessons from Palantir and forward deployment18:10 – What trust really looks like at state level23:44 – Starting Whitespace: mission, mindset, and method29:12 – Why traditional agile is failing in AI35:26 – Architecture that adapts at speed42:05 – Human decision-making vs algorithmic output48:00 – Closing reflections on building inside the system#AI #Technology #FutureOfWork #Innovation #HumanConnection #BASELINE #Podcast #Entrepreneurship #Networking #Influence

Professor Ashley Braganza, Dean of Brunel Business School and founder of its AI Centre, explains how artificial intelligence is not just automating tasks but eroding the essence of human expertise. In this episode of BASELINE, we explore the concept of tacit knowledge, the hidden skills and lived experience that define real work. As AI slices jobs into tasks and replaces collaborative teams with individual co-pilots, we ask what will remain of human value. This is a deep, essential conversation for anyone in business, education, policy or technology trying to understand the real impact of AI on society.BASELINE exposes the truth behind AI’s unstoppable rise. In-depth interviews with AI experts, real analysis, and insights you can trust on the technology reshaping our world.CONTACT IAN:Web: https://www.baselinepodcast.com/Email: [email protected]:00 – The Lens of Change07:26 – What Corporates Already Know14:53 – The Gigification of Work22:20 – Losing Tacit Knowledge29:46 – Can We Still Work as Teams?37:13 – Generative AI in the Boardroom44:40 – AI and the Future of Education52:06 – What We’re Not Teaching AI59:33 – Will This Be a Utopia or a Dystopia?#AI #Technology #FutureOfWork #Innovation #HumanConnection #BASELINE #Podcast #Entrepreneurship #Networking #Influence

Sophie Costin from Make Real reveals how immersive technology and AI are transforming learning inside some of the world’s biggest organisations. From emotion-aware avatars to digital rehearsal spaces, this episode explores how the metaverse is evolving into a safe, responsive environment where people can practise, fail, and grow.Make Real’s award-winning work blends behavioural psychology with game design to create powerful learning tools used by brands like London Business School and the London Stock Exchange Group. This is the future of training - where failure isn’t feared, it’s designed for.BASELINE exposes the truth behind AI’s unstoppable rise. In-depth interviews with AI experts, real analysis, and insights you can trust on the technology reshaping our world.EPISODE LINKS:https://makereal.co.ukCONTACT IAN:Web: https://www.baselinepodcast.com/Email: [email protected]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-smith-a803701/EPISODE CHAPTERS:00:00 – Welcome to BASELINE04001:05 – What Is Make Real?03:20 – The Metaverse Is Becoming Tangible06:45 – From Gaming to Training: Crossing Worlds09:10 – Go-Karts, Pac-Man, and Projection Mapping11:50 – Safe Spaces to Practise Difficult Conversations14:30 – AI, Emotion Recognition, and Learning by Failing17:55 – Digital Worlds That Feel Alive20:40 – Privacy, Safety, and Real-World Impact23:15 – The Future of AI-Augmented Human Skills26:00 – Will the Digital World Empower or Control Us?28:20 – Final Thoughts: Why Human Skills Matter More Than EverYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BaselineAIX: https://x.com/BaselineAITikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@baselineaiLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/baseline-podcastReddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/baselinepodcast#AI #Technology #FutureOfWork #Innovation #HumanConnection #BASELINE #Podcast #Entrepreneurship #Networking #Influence