BASELINE

From 2026, the EU AI Act changes what accountability means for AI systems. For high-risk AI use cases, organisations will be expected to demonstrate traceability, record-keeping, and oversight. In practice, this means being able to show what an AI system did, why it did it, and who was responsible. Logs alone are no longer enough. In this episode of BASELINE, Martin Gibson explains why most organi...

In this episode of BASELINE, filmmaker Archie Brooksbank reflects on storytelling, music, and the human connections that shape how we feel, remember, and act. Drawing on his work across film, sport, and culture, including projects involving figures such as Lionel Messi, Jamie Redknapp, and Lewis Hamilton, as well as collaborations with teams and brands including Red Bull Racing, Aston Martin, and...

Artificial intelligence is already shaping organisations, governments, and public services. Many of the most important AI decisions are being made by default rather than by design. In this episode of BASELINE, Ian speaks with Jonny Williams, Chief Digital Adviser to the UK Public Sector at Red Hat, about why AI feels confusing, why value feels elusive, and why leadership matters more than models....

AI is influencing how we work, how we communicate and how we make decisions. But the deeper change is personal. It affects our values, our identity and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. In this episode, Professor Kevin Money explores how identity is formed, why it feels fragile during rapid change and what helps people stay grounded in an AI influenced world. Kevin is a behavioural s...

In an age of automation, some things can still only be seen by experience. Roger Bradbury spent decades inside UK construction before building the software he wished existed. His story shows how hard-won intuition, lived knowledge and human judgement still outperform the machine when it matters most. This BASELINE conversation explores the reality behind construction’s complexity, why software has...

https://www.space-dots.comLow Earth Orbit is getting crowded, chaotic and harder to manage. In this episode, Space DOTS founder Bianca Cefalo explains why satellites are failing, why 90 percent of orbital anomalies have no known cause, and how space weather and hidden threats are reshaping the environment above Earth. We explore the reality of Kessler syndrome, rapid material degradation, non kine...

https://leilapr.comAI generated content now floods every feed, and journalists are overwhelmed with synthetic pitches, misinformation and noise. In this episode, PR strategist Leila H joins me to reveal how real influence actually works in 2025. We explore what breaks through in the modern media landscape, why chasing the algorithm is a losing strategy, and how journalists choose the most interest...

As algorithms begin to decide what we see, believe, and even feel, one right becomes more important than any other - the right to think freely. Susie Alegre has spent her career fighting for that freedom. From the United Nations and Amnesty International to global courtrooms and parliaments, she has defended the idea that human thought itself must remain beyond the reach of governments and machine...

Is the AI boom a repeat of the dot-com bubble or something entirely new? In this episode of BASELINE, Ian sits down with Danvers Baillieu: tech lawyer, startup operator, and co-founder of GVT Labs to explore what’s real and what’s hype inside the AI bubble. From advising early internet founders and co-creating Bootlaw, to scaling Hide My Ass VPN and InfoSum, Danvers has lived through every wave of...

In this episode, Ian Smith speaks with Joe Tannorella, founder of PodEngine.ai, about the collapse of authenticity in modern media and why AI isn’t to blame. They explore how automation, marketing, and search are reshaping creativity, and why human connection has become the rarest commodity in technology. The discussion moves from the mediocrity of generative AI to the power of conversational know...

In The Age of Imperfect Machines, global InsurTech leader Dr. Magda Ramada Sarasola (WTW) joins BASELINE to explore one of the most overlooked questions in the AI revolution:What happens when AI fails and how do we insure against it? From the fear of the first elevators to today’s non-deterministic AI systems, this conversation uncovers why innovation doesn’t come from eliminating risk, but from l...

For thirty years, Robin Christopherson MBE has shown how technology can remove barriers and bring people in. As Head of Digital Inclusion at AbilityNet, he helped shape the tools that transformed accessibility - screen readers, voice control, and adaptive interfaces that became the foundation for modern computing. Now a new paradox is emerging. The same systems that once empowered people could beg...

Digital identity is no longer just about logging in, it’s about who and what we trust in a world where AI agents are multiplying faster than humans. In this episode of BASELINE, I speak with Jacoby Thwaites, ex-Google technologist and now CTO of Magic ID. We dive into the UK’s plans for mandatory digital ID by 2029, Switzerland’s national e-ID referendum, and why identity has become the #1 attack...

What does it really mean for the UK to become an “AI superpower”? In this episode of BASELINE, James Robson, former Data Protection Officer for the Labour Party (2023–2025), goes inside the hype and the reality. From protecting the most sensitive political data in Britain, to assessing the impact of billions in AI investment, James brings a unique perspective on how artificial intelligence will re...

AI can now trigger real infrastructure changes, not just surface insights. But can you really trust it to touch production? In this episode of BASELINE, Rodney Foreman from Itential introduces the MCP Server: a new orchestration and control layer that allows AI agents, LLMs, and AIOps platforms to take real-world action with policy enforcement, validation, and full guardrails. We explore what the...

Dr Michael Barros brings a rare blend of scientific depth and human clarity. From showing us why every neuron is important to revealing how electroceuticals could transform medicine and how true intelligence is embodied, he turns complex frontiers of neuroscience into ideas anyone can grasp. His work at the University of Essex and the Alan Turing Institute is pioneering, but more than that, he spe...

Mike Lewis has spent over two decades uncovering the hidden inefficiencies that quietly drain millions from organisations. As Managing Director at Equantiis, his calm, pragmatic approach focuses on what others miss - the small inefficiencies that, once fixed, transform performance, morale, and growth. In this conversation, we explore how AI can help eliminate those overlooked problems, why fear an...

Martin Bishop, former Chief Technologist for UK Public Sector at AWS, joins Baseline to explore what really works when governments and enterprises adopt AI.We talk about why embracing pilot failure is key to progress, how two-person teams are now winning seven-figure government tenders, and what legacy estates mean for transformation. Martin also shares lessons from AWS, UK public sector procureme...

In BASELINE052, Ian Smith sits down with Dr John Fletcher - Oxford, Imperial, and Cambridge-trained physicist and Chief Scientist at The Innovation Game. John is not just a world-class academic - he’s a rare innovator who bridges the gap between research and real-world impact. At The Innovation Game, he is building technology that creates genuine competitive advantage, not just another layer of AI...

Venture capital is changing fast and the next wave of fundraising will be powered by data, AI, and intelligent matching between founders and investors. In Part 2 of this BASELINE conversation, Daniel Sawko (CEO of ShipShape VC) shares how hyper-contextual investor search can save founders from wasted meetings, how AI will reshape deal flow, and why frontier markets like space and defence are creat...

What happens when AI meets a healthcare system in crisis? Learn what’s real, what’s hype, and how tech could transform care without losing compassion. 00:00 – Intro: AI in Healthcare, Hype vs. Humanity01:12 – Meet Rhonda Siddall: Freelance Medical Writer02:54 – The Human Dimension of AI Deployment05:10 – The NHS in Crisis: Burnout, Compassion & Reality07:48 – Predictive AI in Diagnosis: COPD &...

Most founders spend up to 50% of their time trying to raise money — but many pitch to the wrong investors, burning time and relationships without results. In Part 1 of this BASELINE conversation, Daniel Sawko, CEO of ShipShape VC, explains why fundraising has become theatre, why warm intros dominate venture capital access, and how early-stage startups can focus on building traction instead of chas...

AI is no longer a tool - it’s a battleground. In this second part of BASELINE043, Paul Jenkinson, founder of Whitespace, reveals how AI is being weaponised, why 93% of Europe’s infrastructure runs on foreign systems, and what it means for UK sovereignty, defence, and trust. From briefing Number 10 to building inside the MoD, this is a rare look into the real stakes of national AI strategy. EPISODE...

Patrick Sheehan is one of Europe’s most experienced sustainability investors. In this special 50th episode of BASELINE, we explore the collision of AI, climate, infrastructure, and early-stage venture capital — and what it means for those trying to build or back the future. Patrick founded ETF Partners, backed transformative startups like Open Cosmos and Cubbit, and has been investing in tech infr...

Louis Knight-Webb combines technical brilliance with rare composure. As co-founder of bloop.ai and a Y Combinator S21 alum, Louis is building AI tools that don’t just touch legacy systems - they understand them. From mainframes to COBOL, his team is using generative models to translate decades-old infrastructure into clear, maintainable modern code. In this BASELINE episode, Louis breaks down: – W...