AI Won't Save Us

Written for the people accountable for the outcome, not just interested in the technology

• CEOs and founders who need to know where AI actually moves the numbers, not just the narrative
• Technology leaders holding the line between what a vendor demos and what actually ships
• Boards and operators who want the version of the AI update that isn't written for the board pack
• Parents deciding how much of their kid's life to hand to a chatbot, and how much to keep
• Anyone tracking their own health data and wondering what's signal and what's noise

What's in it

• The practitioner's view. Written by someone who's led technology through three IPOs, not commentated on one from a research desk.
• A clear line between real and theatre. Every issue draws it: this is changing outcomes, this is changing nothing but the slide deck.
• One idea, argued properly. Not five trends skimmed. One argument you could repeat in a meeting on Monday.
• First word on the podcast and the book. Subscribers hear about new episodes and the book before anyone else.

Your kids are already living with this. 

Your ten-year-old's homework has an AI in the loop. So does the algorithm deciding what they watch next. Most parenting advice on this is either panic or denial. This is neither.

Chatbots doing homework. Algorithms shaping what kids see and think. AI tutoring that actually helps versus AI tutoring that's a toy. Spotting AI-generated content before your kid does. AI companionship, and what it does to real connection. The data trail your child is already leaving.

That's a running thread in the newsletter. It's also the brief for Raising Humans, one of eight seasons in development for the podcast, coming once the first episodes are ready.

Longevity isn't a wellness trend here. It's performance data.

Your wearable is collecting more data about you than most doctors will ever see. The question is whether you're reading it right.

What your sleep, HRV, and glucose data actually tell you. Why elite athletes treat recovery the way CEOs treat P&L. Where AI-powered diagnostics are already catching what routine checkups miss.

Not biohacking for its own sake, the same practitioner lens turned on your own body. It's shaping up to be its own podcast season too, The Body, further down the line.

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I'm Ross Boardman. I've spent 25+ years leading technology through hypergrowth at THG, Phones 4u, and LADbible, and taken three startups to IPO, including one of the UK's largest-ever tech IPOs. These days I work as a fractional CTO.

Every issue is written from that seat. Not a research desk, not a vendor briefing.