Dear friends,
After two weeks travelling between the UK and Dubai, I came home feeling as though I’d moved across centuries in seconds.
The UK felt like a living archive of memory. From the calm halls of the British Museum — which holds around 8 million objects from across the globe — to the historic university towns where centuries overlap, there’s a sense that modern life can honour its past. What struck me most wasn’t that Britain moves slowly, but that it remains steady. Even as it modernises, it remembers where it came from. It keeps its roots while reaching forward.
At the British Museum I realised something: although most of what’s inside didn’t originate in Britain, it’s preserved for everyone. It reminded me that heritage isn’t about claiming; it’s about caring. Generations chose to protect these items so that the story of human civilization carries on.
Then in London I experienced something that made the past and future blur — I attended the ABBA Voyage concert. The lights, the energy, the applause — everything felt so convincingly real. It wasn’t until later I discovered the performers were digital avatars. That moment stayed with me: if technology can reproduce human presence so convincingly, how do we know what counts as “real”?
A few days later in Dubai, the question deepened. I visited the Museum of the Future and saw marvels of human-machine ambition: limbs infused with microchips, robotic systems helping to restore senses, and engineering projects so bold they almost felt scripted. Take Palm Jumeirah for instance — the man-made island required about 40,000 workers and involved shifting around 94 million cubic metres of sand and rock. These are not just constructions; they are declarations of what human teams can build when ambition meets collaboration.
And it made me reflect: whether it’s monumental temples or cutting-edge AI, every major creation depends on two things: a clear mission and strong teamwork. Technology alone isn’t enough; governance, ethics, and the human questions remain just as important. Because progress becomes meaningful only when it serves a purpose beyond itself — when it preserves the mission even as it redefines the method.
So this week’s reflections come down to four things:
- Keep the mission clear, even as the methods change.
- Work together — big dreams always need many hands.
- Hold on to ethics and governance — they keep our progress human.
- Stay curious — because curiosity never expires.
Next week I’ll share a short story from a London Underground poster: “Time is money, but money takes time.” It struck me hard — a reminder that progress and patience must travel together.
Until next time —
Lydia
P.S. If this letter found you at just the right moment, I’d love to hear about it. Join my weekly letter list and let’s figure it out together — one AI-shaped step at a time. Join the weekly letter list.
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