AI Adoption in Major Programmes with Lawrence Rowland | S2 EP 6
04/22/24 • 85 min
Are LLMs stochastic parrots or reflection of our own intelligence? In this episode of Navigating Major Programmes, Riccardo Cosentino sits down with Lawrence Rowland for an extremely candid conversation surrounding the adoption of artificial intelligence, in major programmes and beyond. AI skeptics and AI enthusiasts alike, this episode was recorded for you.
“None of us are keeping up, none of us know what the hell is going on. So, if you can kind of just relax and enjoy it happening, you will also help everyone else so much more. Enjoy it. And enjoy what [AI] is telling us about us.” –Lawrence Rowland
Lawrence began as an engineer on large capital projects with WSP and Motts, before moving onto Bechtel and Booz Allen. He spent ten years in project and portfolio management with CPC and Pcubed, before transitioning to data analytics and AI for projects, working originally for Projecting Success, and now for React AI. He now helps project services firms find relevant immediate AI applications for their business.
Key Takeaways:
- Large Language Model (LLM) 101
- What is an AI agent? What is the principal-agent problem (PAP)?
- What LLMs can teach you about your own thinking patterns
- The future of Google Gemini and AI adoption in general
- The weaknesses of the generative AI of today
Mentioned Links:
- A Path Towards Autonomous Machine Intelligence
- Principal Agent Problem
- Applied Category Theory
- Wisdom of Crowds
- State Space Models and Mamba
- Demis Hassabis and the return of alpha zero type tree search and RL
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community:
- Follow Navigating Major Programmes on LinkedIn
- Follow Riccardo Cosentino on LinkedIn
- Read Riccardo’s latest at wwww.riccardocosentino.com
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
Are LLMs stochastic parrots or reflection of our own intelligence? In this episode of Navigating Major Programmes, Riccardo Cosentino sits down with Lawrence Rowland for an extremely candid conversation surrounding the adoption of artificial intelligence, in major programmes and beyond. AI skeptics and AI enthusiasts alike, this episode was recorded for you.
“None of us are keeping up, none of us know what the hell is going on. So, if you can kind of just relax and enjoy it happening, you will also help everyone else so much more. Enjoy it. And enjoy what [AI] is telling us about us.” –Lawrence Rowland
Lawrence began as an engineer on large capital projects with WSP and Motts, before moving onto Bechtel and Booz Allen. He spent ten years in project and portfolio management with CPC and Pcubed, before transitioning to data analytics and AI for projects, working originally for Projecting Success, and now for React AI. He now helps project services firms find relevant immediate AI applications for their business.
Key Takeaways:
- Large Language Model (LLM) 101
- What is an AI agent? What is the principal-agent problem (PAP)?
- What LLMs can teach you about your own thinking patterns
- The future of Google Gemini and AI adoption in general
- The weaknesses of the generative AI of today
Mentioned Links:
- A Path Towards Autonomous Machine Intelligence
- Principal Agent Problem
- Applied Category Theory
- Wisdom of Crowds
- State Space Models and Mamba
- Demis Hassabis and the return of alpha zero type tree search and RL
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community:
- Follow Navigating Major Programmes on LinkedIn
- Follow Riccardo Cosentino on LinkedIn
- Read Riccardo’s latest at wwww.riccardocosentino.com
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
Previous Episode
Do Major Programmes Need To Be Resilient? With Daniel Armanios | S2 EP 5
In this episode of Navigating Major Programmes, Riccardo sits down with Daniel Armanios, BT Professor of Major Programme Management and Chair of Major Programme Management at University of Oxford, Saïd Business School. The pair discuss the importance of research, the type of valuable research and the post evaluation of major programmes.
"And so a second very cool question would be where do we want resilience in a major programme? I mean, obviously you want it within the program but do you want it in the selection process? Maybe not? Do you want it in the post validation where we don't do as well? Maybe not so maybe resilience is not great everywhere. And maybe it's really important in certain places. I've been really thinking about this a lot because it's a really visceral fundamental point. What is it we're actually doing and trying to achieve?" – Daniel Armanios
Daniel’s research and teaching integrates civil engineering and organizational sociology to better understand how organizations coordinate to build, manage, and maintain infrastructure systems. His findings inform efforts to advance sustainable development, entrepreneurship, and innovation, while also alleviating systemic and persistent inequities within such systems.
Key Takeaways:
- The distinction of megaprojects and major programmes
- The importance of transparent assumptions and data research in major programmes
- Studying major programmes at a component level
- Where do we want resilience in major programmes?
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community:
- Follow Navigating Major Programmes on LinkedIn
- Follow Riccardo on LinkedIn
- Follow Daniel Armanios on LinkedIn
- Daniel Armanios’ published work
- Read Riccardo’s latest at wwww.riccardocosentino.com
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
Next Episode
Manage Risks and Disputes in Major Programmes with Shawn Modar | S2 E7
In this episode of Navigating Major Programmes, Riccardo Cosentino sits down with fellow Oxford’s Saïd Business School alumnus, Shawn Modar, to discuss why mega projects go wrong and what can be done contractually to avoid failure. The pair delve into the role psychological contracts play in the Iron Triangle. Plus, Shawn shares his Oxford dissertation findings, including a prenuptial agreement analogy you don’t want to miss.
“One of the interesting realizations that I had during this process is: Why would somebody intentionally not comply with their contract, knowing all those legal risks that are out there? And what I realized is when they're not complying with that written contract, they're actually complying with their psychological contract.” – Shawn Modar
Shawn Modar has more than 23 years of experience in the engineering and construction industry, with the majority of that time being focused on construction claim analysis and dispute resolution. His primary focus is assisting clients in their efforts to substantiate or defend against claims for the recovery of time and additional costs, to avoid formal disputes, and to make informed decisions that result in equitable resolutions.
Key Takeaways:
- The risk of acting like something you’re not: Relational contracts versus traditional contracts
- The truth behind intentional noncompliance in megaprojects
- The benefits and downfalls of psychological contracts
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our community via LinkedIn:
- Follow Shawn Modar on LinkedIn
- Follow Navigating Major Programmes on LinkedIn
- Follow Riccardo Cosentino on LinkedIn
- Read Riccardo’s latest at wwww.riccardocosentino.com
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
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