WhatsApp: The Silent Front Door to AI Over the last two decades, we’ve watched communications shift, from desktop dialers and browser-based apps to mobile-first, message-driven interactions. We’ve seen the rise (and often the fall) of platform plays. But now, as AI becomes the next wave, the real story isn’t in new apps. It’s in existing … Read more
AI
Your Inbox Just Got a Personal Assistant (And It’s About Time)
I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with my inbox. It’s simultaneously the central nervous system of my work life and the biggest time vampire in my digital existence. So when I heard about Perplexity’s new Email Assistant, I couldn’t help but feel that familiar mix of tech optimism and “but will it actually work?” skepticism … Read more
AI Today vs. Dot-Com Then
The AI sector right now mirrors the late 1990s internet boom almost to the letter. Back then, startups raised absurd amounts of capital on little more than a domain name and a pitch deck. Companies with no revenue—and in some cases no real product—were suddenly valued in the billions. The bubble burst hard in 2000–2001, … Read more
Why I Say “Press 1” Is Dead
Since the early days of VoIP, we’ve been talking about the demise of legacy telephony structures. “Press 1 for sales” was always a symptom of old-school thinking. Now, with OpenAI’s real-time SIP integration, that era is finally over. For years, I’ve advocated for smarter systems. In 2018, when Dialpad acquired TalkIQ, I wrote how AI … Read more
Generative Tools in Schools is Modern-Day Book Burning
In the dim corridors of America’s schools, as the 2025-2026 academic year dawns, a new witch hunt is underway. Not against heretics or radicals, but against the very tools that could propel our children into the future: generative AI like ChatGPT. Districts across the nation, gripped by paranoia and outdated dogma, are slapping bans on … Read more
The AI Market Is Splitting Into Two Distinct Paths
After diving into the merged findings from Bessemer’s “State of AI 2025” and Janelle Tang’s Next Big Teng’s analysis, I’m struck by how the AI startup landscape is crystallizing into a fascinating dichotomy. Three years post-ChatGPT, we’re seeing the market mature in ways that tell us a lot about where things are headed. What’s immediately … Read more
Why We Must Move Beyond Gigabit Internet in the Next Decade
There was a time when “gigabit” sounded like science fiction. The idea that you could move a billion bits per second to your home or office was the stuff of press releases and futurist conference keynotes. Fast-forward to today, and “gigabit” is like a high-performance sports car you only drive in school zones—more capacity than … Read more
The Digital Dinosaur’s Final Roar: What AOL’s Dial-Up Death Tells Us About Tomorrow’s Internet
The iconic screech of AOL’s dial-up modem—that distinctive digital handshake that welcomed millions to the internet—will finally fall silent on September 30, 2025. I find this moment oddly poignant, not for nostalgic reasons, but because it perfectly illustrates how dramatically our connectivity landscape has evolved. Taking a step back, I think there are a few … Read more
Agentic AI Has Arrived — And It’s Not Waiting for You to Catch Up
A few weeks back, I shared my early take on Agentic AI and why it matters. At the time, it felt like I was seeing around corners. This week confirmed it: Agentic AI isn’t just coming. It’s already here, and the pace of activity is dizzying. Let’s start with security. CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform helped bring … Read more
Telephony-First Voice AI: Why Most Startups Get It Wrong—and Who’s Getting It Right
The recent CB Insights* report on Voice AI consolidation is a clear sign of the sector’s heat. But while capital is flowing and M&A is looming, most of the startups being celebrated have one major flaw: they’re not telephony-first. They treat voice like a data event, not a communications foundation. They analyze conversations after the … Read more