- Written by Robert McCaffrey Editorial Director, Global Gypsum Magazine
We recently heard on the grapevine of the passing of another participant in the wider building materials industry, at the much-too-young age of 46. Whenever we hear news like this, which is all-too-frequently, we always loosen our collars and wonder at our own mortality. We will all die - that is a certainty - but we all hope to spend a reasonable amount of time on this Earth before we go, and to depart with dignity and without pain. Ideally, we will leave the planet a better place, through our actions, than when we first arrived. How many of us can say that?
- Written by Peter Edwards Editor, Global Gypsum Magazine
I am currently in the process of moving house. While this is a stressful life event, there’s not normally much to report: Pick up the keys, move your stuff over, notify everyone of your new address and put the kettle on. The stress mainly happens before the actual move.
- Written by Robert McCaffrey Editorial director, Global Gypsum Magazine
There are already many forms of artificial intelligence (AI) in the world today. Weak or narrow AI is a kind of machine-based expertise that is focused on a single or very narrow range of tasks. This is already very widely available. Siri and Alexa might be thought of as weak AI, although they are already sophisticated compared to achievements only a decade ago1: they combine speech recognition and natural language processing to ‘understand’ what you are asking them. They then have a set of capabilities that they can act upon (such as making a call, setting an alarm or ordering flowers for Mother’s Day on the internet).
- Written by Robert McCaffrey Editorial director, Global Gypsum Magazine
What will the global gypsum and insulation industries look like in 50 years’ time (in 2068)? Let’s take a look at some current trends and extend them into the future to see what our world will look like then.
- Written by Robert McCaffrey Editorial director, Global Gypsum Magazine
I make no apologies for writing this column on a subject that has nothing to do with gypsum, insulation or any other building material: Occasionally, I do go ‘off-topic.’ Sometimes, it’s useful to stand back so that you can see the bigger picture. In fact, we should probably all do it more often.
