February 2026
Building Relationships, Not Just Prompts
Insights from The Long Game of AI: why explainable agents and trust matter more than the veneer of intelligence from LLMs.
Alex Gilbert•
AIAgentsTrustExplainabilityLEIA
Ideas
Thoughts and insights from the aethren team on AI, technology, leadership, and innovation.
December 2025
Designing Return on Experience
Return on experience is still framed as something to be evaluated after an event, rather than designed into it from the start. If ROE matters, it needs to be shaped early and deliberately.
Alex Gilbert•
EventsROEExperienceAIPlanning
October 2025
The Ice Age of AI
A reflection on how technology always moves from the centre to the edge, and why AI may be about to follow the same path.
Alex Gilbert•
AITechnologyBusinessEvolution
October 2025
Forget AGI, The Future Is Small
Why the future of AI lies in small, specialised models rather than general intelligence. How domain-specific AI tools can deliver practical, immediate impact.
Alex Gilbert•
AIAGISpecialized ModelsTechnology
August 2025
AI Is Whatever We Can't Do Yet
How our definition of AI keeps shifting as technology advances. Why we keep moving the goalposts and what that says about human intelligence.
Alex Gilbert•
AIArtificial IntelligenceTechnologyPhilosophy
August 2025
From Lab Rats to Leaders: Why Tenacity Still Wins
Why persistence and energy beat luck: lessons from Franklin, Churchill, and Pinky & The Brain.
Alex Gilbert•
LeadershipPersistenceInnovationCulture
August 2025
Atoms for Progress: AI, Nuclear Power, and the Misalignment of Deregulation
AI is hungry. The future we're building runs on power, not just computing power, but electricity. And we're not ready.
Alex Gilbert•
AIEnergyInfrastructureNuclear Power
July 2025
When AI Becomes a Crutch
A recent study shows that developers using AI tools actually slow down. The reason might be deeper than the tools themselves.
Alex Gilbert•
AIProductivityDevelopmentTools
July 2025
Radical Context: Why Product–Market Fit Isn't Enough in the Age of AI
How AI is changing the game for product–market fit and what it means for the next generation of start-ups.
Alex Gilbert•
AIProductStartupsStrategy
February 2025
Small but Mighty: How AI Lets Lean Startups Do More With Less
How AI is empowering lean start-ups to punch above their weight.
Alex Gilbert•
AIStartupsBusinessEfficiency
February 2025
R.I.P. "Move Fast & Break Things"
"Move fast and break things" is no longer relevant, now we move fast and build with purpose.
Alex Gilbert•
Tech CultureBusinessPurposeInnovation
January 2025
"It's Not Hard to Make Decisions When You Know What Your Values Are."
Building a company on a foundation of clear values: Courage, Honesty, and Perseverance.
Alex Gilbert•
LeadershipValuesDecision MakingCulture
December 2024
Just Finished Reading Leaders Eat Last – Here's Why It Resonated So Deeply
A powerful reminder of what truly builds strong, resilient organisations.
Alex Gilbert•
LeadershipManagementCultureTeams