Mastering the AI era - perhaps the process is the same as mastering the Iliad

#AI, #cyber, #data, and #sustainability— it can feel that everything you hear about them is unintelligible. It can feel that there is no way to master them or capture their essence.

The problem is not new - we experience the same thought journey about something or another. For example, I had always wanted to read or, more precisely, understand the story and lessons of Homer's Iliad. It has influenced and entertained so many leaders over thousands of years. But it is 24 books and some 15,000 lines, written thousands of years ago. I can't even read the short-form messages my kids send me without Google. Understanding the raw text of the Iliad would be laborious, and the layers of interpretation by everyone else between then and now would mean I have to accept bias. I have no idea how to measure a good bias from a bad one! I don't know where to start.

But disruption can still occur to a nearly three-thousand-year-old artifact. As the English Literature Teacher (Adrian D'Ambra) puts it...

"Can I get to the Iliad story rather than the allegory?"

There has been an innovation, not in the original text but in the translation, specifically Emily Watson's 2023 translation of the Iliad. It enables new accessibility to the raw material, upon which the English Literature Teacher's writings provide another layer of expertise. Adrian recasts the story as a succinct account of what happens, essentially unencumbered with interpretation, and then separately describes observations and topics raised. Brilliant, I have a place to start and achieve the goal of understanding the essence and the bias.

The Iliad is a story written during a technology-driven disruption, confusingly intertwining norms from the bronze and iron ages. Is the confusion we feel today as we transition to the AI era similar? The English Literature Teacher (Adrian D'Ambra) are writings on literature, not technology. They provide 24 short accounts, one per book, of the Iliad's "story", as recently translated by Emily Wilson, and keeping contemporary observations aside.

There are many parallels to today - the birth of the AI era. The Iliad occurs during significant technological change, the shift from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, and weaves in norms from both. Perhaps DeepSeek represents a fundamental shift in accessibility, and soon, we all gain access to LLMs in many facets of our daily lives. But the more pertinent question is, who do you trust to take you through the journey of mastering the AI era? How do you measure bias from advice / coaching or the vendors / technology providers / investors themselves?

We are helping C-suite leaders without a technology background and technology engineers/sales with little global business background go through this journey. Engaging in but attaining confidence over hype is a core value of our work. We would like to talk to you about it. You may even safely read the Iliad.