I’m looking forward to the upcoming Bath Digital Festival. https://bathdigitalfestival.co.uk/

Artificial intelligence (AI) is pervasive: decisions made by AI influence our choices and our lives every day, often without us realising. These decisions, driven by algorithms, are changing society. What does this mean for us as project managers, and how should we adapt? What is AI? What do we mean by AI? First, we must distinguish between classic or pure AI (‘thinking computers’) and applied AI (the application of specific algorithms to develop systems that exhibit machine intelligence).

Today is a busy day – as is every day in my life as a consulting project and programme manager. I start the day responding to emails and checking the diary, attending video conference calls, checking progress of actions and agreeing new actions. I then get together with my PMO to review progress updates from our team and suppliers. We update the schedule, and extend our plans into the next phase of work.

Anti-fragility is a brilliant concept, put forward by Taleb in his wonderful books: Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan and Anti-fragility. These concepts can be applied to make projects stronger, and thrive on challenge. As project professionals, our job is to deliver change. We steer our projects through complex and ever-changing environments, handling adversity to deliver on time, cost and scope. Threats arrive from all directions, both internal and external, and the longer the project runs, the more volatility it will be exposed to.

I’m looking forward to the upcoming Bath Digital Festival. https://bathdigitalfestival.co.uk/

The lights rise, and the ballerina curtsies. The audience applaud, delighted with the superb performance they have just seen. The dancers enter the stage, and take their bows, happy to share in the enjoyment they have brought. At every performance the troupe have delivered consistently, exceeding the expectations of all who have seen their skill, movement and grace. Their secret to success? Years of training, testing and refining their skills, underpinned by a clear vision for each production, well planned and carefully choreographed.

Physics is all about change. The universe, and everything within it, is evolving and in a state of constant flux. Projects are no different. Change is both what a project is, and a way of life. Modern physics is remarkable. We have learnt to see inside the atom, and the constituent parts of atoms. The latest generation of space telescopes are staring further back in time, to an epoch not long after our universe came into being.