About MattCASmith

Observations on technology, business, and culture

London, UK > I'm a cyber security professional observing technology, business, and culture with a skeptical – but never cynical – eye, and scratching a writing itch from a previous life as a journalist.

I write thoughtful articles about how we build and live with technology, cutting past the hype and hysteria that dominates mainstream tech writing.

Field Notes // A newsletter by MattCASmith

A monthly collection of observations, ideas in progress,
and the best books, podcasts, and articles I discover

What do you write about?

My articles cover technology, business, and culture. Recent topics include:

AI – It's here, it's hyped to the rafters, and it receives billions of dollars in investment, but there are still questions around its utility and safety.
Business – I'm by no means a financial analyst, but I do feel passionately about how we do business, and what motivates our work.
Cyber security – I don't focus on my day job too much, but occasionally I feel compelled to correct the mainstream narrative on a story.
Gaming – A pastime I have less time for these days, but never quite left me. Expect articles focused on the business and culture of games.
Productivity – I'm intrigued by systems people develop to get more done, but wary of obsessing over them to the point of inefficiency.
Social media – I don't think anybody thought connecting the entire human race would turn out quite the way it has. It's fascinating.
Travel – Sometimes I find myself in new places for work or pleasure, and discover interesting things about how other people live and work.

Where should I start?

If you're looking for specific topics, use the search box at the top of this page to find relevant articles. Otherwise, I recommend the following sample – some of my best and most popular pieces – to get a feel for the blog:

      •  Humanising AI encourages intellectual lethargy [AI]
      •  Quality products begin with detail-obsessed leaders [Business]
      •  Claude's café pop-up convinced me to switch LLMs [AI]
      •  Death Stranding 2: The journeys lost to life on demand [Gaming]
      •  ChatGPT Atlas positions AI as the internet's gatekeeper [AI]
      •  New York City: Observations and recommendations [Travel]