Category: Innovation

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Latest Read: AI for Good

AI for Good: Applications in Sustainability, Humanitarian Action, and Health by William B. Weeks and Juan M. Lavista Ferres.

AI for Good: Applications in Sustainability, Humanitarian Action, and Health by William B. Weeks and Juan M. Lavista Ferres

William holds a BS in Biology/ChemistryBachelor of Science from Whitman College, MD from The University of Texas Medical Branch, and PhD in Economics from Aix-Marseille University France. Today he is Director, AI for Health at Microsoft and an Adjunct Professor at NYU School of Public Health.

Juan holds a BS in computer science from the Catholic University in Uruguay, MA in Data Mining and Machine Learning from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in AI on Healthcare from Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam.

With a foreword by Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, AI for Good is certainly addressing the exploration of how artificial intelligence is being used today to address the world’s most pressing challenges.

Readers will discover how Microsoft’s AI leaders and researchers are obviously using AI to transform the world for the better. The impact AI is making on data analytics is amazing. William and Juan are detailing their efforts so far.

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Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: The Growth Mindset Workbook

The Growth Mindset Workbook: CBT Skills to Help You Build Resilience, Increase Confidence, and Thrive through Life’s Challenges by Elaine Elliott Moskwa with a forward by Carol S. Dweck

The Growth Mindset Workbook by Elaine Elliott-Moskwa

Elaine holds a PhD and did postdoctoral work at the Harvard School of Education. She trained in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) at the University of Pennsylvania. She helped to establish the CBT training program at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Currently, she is president of the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies.

A certainly important follow up book to Carol Dweck’s breakthrough work. This is a well received workbook providing great lessons to embrace personal growth. This workbook holds clear and actionable exercises based upon Elaine’s work as a student of Carol and clearly excels at Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

There is a mix of theory and actionable hands-on activities. This is based upon step-by-step guidance for shifting from a fixed to a growth mindset. Elaine is focusing on sustaining a growth mindset even when setbacks naturally develop. This should be recommended for anyone seeking to deepen self-awareness and develop lifelong mental skills. However to be fair Elaine is acknowledging this is not a substitute for clinical mental health treatments.

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Artificial Intelligence Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: The New Dark Age

New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future by James Bridle.

The New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future by James Bridle

James holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science and Cognitive Science from University College London. He is a contributor to Wired, The Atlantic, and The Guardian. He remains an Adjunct Professor at New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program.

So, does the creation of massive data sets make the world better? Perhaps not according to James. It would appear the data models in use are not sufficient anymore. In some cases the algorithms are revealing bias and lack of transparency by vendors.

As a result, James takes a position that even with Big Data accessible to more and more people, we are living in a new dark age. Hence the title of his book.

In general James is acknowledging how recent technology has led to the concentration of wealth to a small group of individuals and key corporations. As a result our social inequalities continue. He position includes the idea that data is no longer about facts alone but is now embedded into our current social conditions.

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Artificial Intelligence Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: HBR’s 10 Must Reads 2025

HBR’s 10 Must Reads 2025: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review.

HBR's 10 Must Reads 2025: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review

In the closing days of 2023 I was reading HBR’s 10 Must Reads for 2024. This was a good indicator of management ideas for the coming new year. A year later, closing 2024 seems perfect to begin 2025 with HBR’s annual refresh.

This book is for both new and experienced leaders seeking insights, inspiration, and advice to propel their organizations forward in the new year.

Perhaps no other topic is the continuing role of AI impacting organizations last year and the coming impact of AI Agents. Perhaps their 2026 Must Reads will expand upon the growth of agents we will engage this year.

Why? The chapter ‘Reskilling in the Age of AI’ acknowledged ChatGPT’s impact was not predicted. As a result computer automation was already set to displace and transform the global workforce. Now LLMs, Agents, and ML will perhaps drive those numbers even higher. The message: Reskilling will be a focal point for organizations to thrive in an AI-driven environment. Yet the advice includes the challenge that organizational ups killing simply will not be enough. Worth the read alone especially for colleges and training centers.

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Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: Revenge of the Tipping Point

Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering by Malcolm Gladwell.

Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm holds a BA in history from the University of Toronto in 1984. He began as a staff writer at The Washington Post and today has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996 and is also the host of the podcast Revisionist History and co-founder of the podcast company Pushkin Industries.

Actually I find it a bit amazing to consider that I read Malcom’s book The Tipping Point in August 2007. As amazing as may seem, The Tipping Point was on the NYTimes Bestseller list for eight years. This was the first of eight books by him that I have read.

Now 25 years later he has published a follow up which is reframing some of his original stories. As always he crafts unique points of interest, discovers overlaps, and presents them in very intriguing ways. Malcolm is also in fact, now tracing the rise of a new and troubling form of social engineering. Perhaps this is the book that many readers must simply see as an indicator of social engineering. While I continue to struggle to effectively communicate the risks of social engineering on computers, Malcolm is presenting this risk in a much more eloquent manner.

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