Mick Doran’s Post

Have you seen OpenAI’s latest potential power play? OpenAI is exploring a shift to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) structure. The aim of which is to protect itself from potential hostile takeovers and maintain control over its mission. This comes after securing $6.6 billion in funding, raising the company’s valuation to $157 billion. The PBC model would require OpenAI to balance shareholder interests with its broader goal of benefiting society—offering a defence against outside pressure and unwanted acquisition attempts. The change follows a period of "internal shake-ups", (would love to be a fly on those walls!) and key leadership departures. Don't forget that the tensions linger with co-founder Elon Musk, who’s now pursuing legal action against the company. Remember as the AI industry faces increasing scrutiny, OpenAI’s shift could become a precedent for how tech companies balance innovation, control, and societal impact. Watch this space! #OpenAI #HaveTheyUsedTheirNoggins #ChatGPT #AI

The company said in a statement to investors that while there is "no consistent or reliable evidence" the drug increases the risk of cancer, the settlements "remove significant financial uncertainty." So that's why GSK settled several lawsuits for $2.2bn over claims that a discontinued version of its heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer. $2.2bn..... They also admitted no wrongdoing in any of the cases. Personally, I'd love to see the company defend its science and it's products, as one has to ask questions, why give in. Surely the company's reputation is worth more than this payout. Guido Palazzo be interested in your take? #zantac #gsk #science #shareholders

Look after your #noggin everyday so it can look after you. #useyournoggin #worldmentalhealthday #bekind

🍔 Turns Out, We’re All Stuffed... .... with Data! Infobesity to give it its proper name, and lots of us are suffering from it. 🧠 55% of UK office workers are suffering from a serious case of "information overload." 🧠 43% are stressing out over the flood of emails, notifications, and updates, 🧠 34% are feeling more 'overwhelmed' than a laptop with 100 tabs open. 🧠 58% check work devices within 15 minutes of waking up (because who needs coffee when you've got 56 unread emails?) 🧠 52% can't resist one last inbox scroll before bed. 😴 Dave Coplin, Microsoft's chief envisioning officer, calls it "snacking" on information—grazing through endless digital tidbits without actually digesting anything. The result? Bad decisions, skyrocketing stress, and productivity that's 📉 Question is, how do we learn to control the digital buffet before it controls us. What do you think? #infobesity #useyournoggin #focus #dataoverload source: YouGov poll commissioned by Microsoft

When your hormones decide to play DJ, but the playlist is all over the place. 🎶 Or the perimenopause to some. One minute you’re the life of the Zoom call, the next, you’re considering starting a new life in a cottage on the Isle of Skye. 🏞️ For those hitting the ‘perimenopause years,’ it’s not just about hot flashes, or the brain fog (though those are fun, right?). It’s the mood swings that can make even the most seasoned professional feel like they’ve lost the plot of their own story. But here’s the good news—you’re not losing it. It’s just your hormones rewriting the script a bit. It’s like a rebrand, but way less predictable (and without the flashy PowerPoint deck). And like any rebrand, it takes some adjustments. A little self-care, some extra support (hey FOGO, we see you), and a healthy dose of patience can make all the difference. So, to everyone out there juggling deadlines and hormones—keep your head up. We see you. And if all else fails, there’s always that cottage on Skye. 😉 #perimenopause #useYournoggin #moodswings #hormones #work #braincare

“We need to see the world as it is, not as we are.” Sounds straightforward, right? But let’s be honest, it’s about as straightforward as trying to fold a fitted sheet. I recently read an interesting article about “common sense”. And guess what? It’s not that common. Shocking, I know. We throw around the term like it’s a universal cheat code for life— “Just use your common sense!” But here’s the catch: what’s “common” to you might sound like a bad punchline to someone else. You know the moment. You’re having a conversation and internally screaming, “How can this person not see it?!” But they can’t. Because common sense isn’t a one-size-fits-all thing. It’s much more nuanced and built from your personal experiences, biases, and the cultural quirks you picked up along the way. Long story short…. “Common sense” is just your sense. Not exactly the communal wisdom we thought it was. And our brains don’t help here either. With their cognitive biases, like confirmation bias, they make you believe your view is the pure, uncut truth, while everyone else is left looking confused, wondering if they missed the memo. So, instead of assuming we’re all on the same page, we might need to accept that we’re not even reading the same book! Because in a world where common sense is about as common as a meeting that could have been an email, the real genius move might be to ditch the assumption that it’s universal at all. #commonsense #useYournoggin #CognitiveBias #UncommonSense Original story - NewScientist: Emma Young

What if playing it safe is the biggest risk of all? Let’s be honest: no one’s thrilled about failure. Yet, sometimes the smartest people in the room always seem to be the ones who’ve ‘failed’ the most. Harvard professor Amy Edmondson calls it “smart failure.” It’s not about being reckless. It’s about taking the kind of risks where, even if you faceplant, you’re landing with a treasure trove of insights. Comfort zones are great if you’re in need of a nap, but they’re terrible places to live. Musk didn’t send rockets into space without first blowing a few up. (There’s a cool youtube video of SpaceX progress - check it out) Edison didn’t create the light bulb without first lighting up… absolutely nothing… hundreds of times. Philosopher John Dewey once said, “Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes.” In fact, lifelong learners know that falling short is part of the curriculum. It’s the crash course in doing things better next time. Or, in some cases, doing something entirely different. And that’s when the magic happens. So here’s to the risks we haven’t yet taken, the uncomfortable experiments that might flop, and the ideas that could just make us look ridiculous. Because, frankly, nothing remarkable ever came from being cautious. Let’s get out of that comfort zone and see where the smart failures take us. And of course if you’re needing inspiration check out what David Hieatt writes about …. 👏 #smartfailures #useYournoggin #innovation #experiments

Where have all the thoughtful people gone? It feels like the world is getting louder. The gobby voices often drown out the quiet, reflective ones. We’re told that the squeaky nut gets the oil, but is that always a good thing? Sometimes, the loudest aren’t the wisest. Sometimes, gobbiness is mistaken for confidence, and we start celebrating noise over nuance. And in that process, thoughtful ideas—the ones that require a pause, a deep breath, and time to form—get lost. Have we replaced thinking with talking? In our rush to be heard, are we losing the art of listening, of reflecting, of considering what we actually want to say before we say it? There’s a downside to this. When the most vocal are rewarded, we risk becoming a place where volume wins over value. The space for deep thought, for critical thinking, becomes smaller and smaller. So as this week ends .... Maybe it's time to reintroduce the pause. To let curiosity and patience have their place. To celebrate the thinkers, the listeners, and the ones who don’t rush to speak, but instead take their time to form ideas worth sharing. Let’s make room for thoughtful voices. ps is it obvious I spent several hours on trains this week? #valueNotvolume #useYournoggin #pause #listening

Let them without sin cast the first stone ! We've all been there ... haven't we? Those “Oh no…” moments. When you realise you've just played email roulette. But it doesn't need to be that way. Give your noggin a boost before it gives your reputation a bruising. Get more OOMPH & less OOPS #FocusBetter #AvoidTheOops #UseYourNoggin #nootropics