We were promised that digital tools would shrink work weeks and boost efficiency—so why do our days feel busier and longer and our organisation’s overheads higher? We are joined, once again, by longtime friend of the Podcast, IT Specialist, Researcher and Digital Analyst Matthew Cowen to try to cut through the tech hype. In this conversation, we discuss: the efficacy and usefulness of LLMs; the link between technology, productivity and business, and whether technology has truly increased productivity; the growing pushback against all things digital and the rise of the desire for physical things; and whether data centres are the Achilles’ heel of tech.

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music.

For years, we were sold a simple story: plug in, automate, and watch efficiency soar. Every new software deployment promised to shrink our workweeks, streamline our businesses, and connect us to an effortless digital future. However, as we look around today, the narrative is showing noticeable cracks.

Currently, we find ourselves leaning heavily on Large Language Models (LLMs), marvelling at their speed and being made to feel that if we are “not using AI”, we are being left behind.  However, are we asking questions about where their genuine utility ends and high-priced performance art begins? We continue pouring unprecedented capital into digital tools, only to confront an uncomfortable paradox: our days feel busier, our overhead higher, but genuine productivity growth remains stubbornly elusive.

At the same time, a subtle resistance is quietly taking root. Tired of ephemeral screens, subscription fatigue, and relentless notifications, people are increasingly stepping away from digital devices and platforms and reaching back toward the tangible. From physical media to analogue routines, there is a growing yearning for things that can be held, owned, and experienced offline.

At the same time, underneath all of this virtual promise sits a massive physical reality we rarely discuss. Thousands of sprawling data centres have already been constructed, with more underway, to feed the growing demand for computing resources, which in turn are consuming a staggering amount of energy, land, and water, and severely damaging our natural environment.

In our upcoming Podcast episode, we are stepping away from the marketing hype to explore whether technology is truly serving our productivity, how digital fatigue is reshaping human behaviour, and what happens when virtual ambition collides with the physical limits of our world.

 

Introducing our guest

Matthew Cowen

Matthew Cowen is an IT veteran based in Martinique for 20 years, with over 30 years of industry experience. He specialises in researching the digital ecosystems of the Caribbean. He founded a boutique consultancy called dgtlfutures that helps micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) develop and implement transformation strategies and works closely with companies digitalising their operations chain.

Matthew is also involved in Internet Governance in the region and is an ARIN Fellow. He authors a newsletter called The Future is Digital, which you can find on his site, matthewcowen.org, along with a regularly updated blog on his current work. Matthew also teaches various tech-related subjects at the degree and master’s levels in three further education establishments in Martinique.

 

Insights into our conversation

In trying to keep up with technology, it is easy to just focus on the headlines, the big messaging, as we often do not have the time, nor the brain space, to scratch beneath the surface. This is why chatting with Matthew is so valuable, as we cover a lot of ground in just an hour-long conversation.

The core topics that we covered, specifically: (i) the efficacy and usefulness of LLMs; (ii) the link between technology, productivity and business, and whether technology has truly increased productivity; (iii) the growing pushback against all things digital and the rise of the desire for physical things; and (iv) whether data centres are the Achilles’ heel of tech, all have long term implications. Further, pundits are increasingly arguing that technology, even artificial intelligence, is approaching an inflexion point, and to varying degrees, as Matthew suggested, there is evidence that history might be repeating itself.

  1. LLMs have been heavily marketed as transformative tools for every industry. From a practical perspective, how much of their value is genuine, high-impact utility, and how much is just clever, capital-driven hype?
  2. We often confuse activity with productivity. Do modern digital tools, such as Slack, constant email, or task-management dashboards, make employees more productive, or do they simply accelerate the speed at which we do administrative busywork?
  3. The AI explosion relies entirely on massive data centre expansion, which consumes colossal amounts of electricity, land, and water for cooling. Are data centres becoming the physical bottleneck that could derail the entire AI revolution?
  4. We are seeing a growing pushback against all-digital lifestyles. Are we witnessing a temporary trend, or a permanent psychological pushback against perpetual connectivity?”
  5. In countries or regions prone to natural disasters or infrastructure disruptions, over-digitisation can be a vulnerability. Does the pushback against ‘digital-everything’ highlight a real need for physical, offline redundancies?
  6. If you were advising a business owner or policy team who feels overwhelmed by AI hype, data centre resource crises, and digital fatigue among their workforce—what is the first principle they should keep in mind to navigate the next few years?

 

We would love to hear your thoughts!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode, do get in touch.

Let’s make it happen!

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Images credit:  M Cowen;  DC Studio (Magnific); Andreas Klassen (Unsplash);  rawpixel.com (Magnific)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez