To save the planet, a company like Rio Tinto needs to bends its path and lower its environmental impact —-> to lower its impact it will need technology such as autonomous electric trucks —> Intel are part of enabling that technology—> that Intel tech sits on top of Amazon Web Services which is one of the backbones if the internet of things.

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It's the interconnectedness of the the internet of things.

This is one of the items I learned at the AWS summit in London along with 12,000+ attendees.  I also learned how much I didn’t know. 

Sure, you don’t need to understand the combustion engine to drive a car but it did give me an appreciation for data science, software engineering and much of the architecture that lies underneath our internet.

It’s free so consider going next year, read some basic computer science and be prepared to gawp like me.

Notes: 

Amazon Web Services AWSSummit London. 12,000+ people learning about AWS, including me. Netflix to Unilever to Brooks Brothers, to Philips Healthcare, to start ups to governments all using AWS.

AWS growth in customers and revs seemingly accelerating from an already high base ($22bn at >40%). Why? AWS claim “Accelerated metabolism economy” which is poor jargon for scaling effects certain businesses are seeing (eg mondo in bank accounts).

AWS - you need: Strategy, Technology, Culture and Conviction. I was intrigued by the customer-centric message that AMZN CTO emphasised which is an AMZN cultural thread. AWS made the case for the cloud and its architecture for start-ups to large corps with hundreds of AWS services and growing: it’s impressive.

CTO suggested companies will compete on data. Every business has same access to mobile, analytics, IT servers etc. You can buy algos. Data and how it’s used will be key. The breadth of companies using AWS or developing software is astonishing. You don’t have to understand an engine to drive a car. But this look under the hood of the internet of things left me realising how much there is to learn.

NB noticeably few women in the room. hm.

How to live a life, well lived. Thoughts from a dying man. On play and playing games.

If you'd like to feel inspired by commencement addresses and life lessons try:  Neil Gaiman on making wonderful, fabulous, brilliant mistakes; or Nassim Taleb's commencement address; or JK Rowling on the benefits of failure.  Or Charlie Munger on always inverting;  Sheryl Sandberg on grief, resilience and gratitude.

A provoking read on how to raise a feminist child.

Cross fertilise. Read about the autistic mind here.