Between Christmas and New Year the BBC Radio 4 breakfast programme has a guest editor each day. Their job is to work with the programme team and introduce a subject or subjects that interest or concern them.
There were three that particularly caught my attention: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, The Head of UK Intelligence Services at GCHQ, Sir Jeremy Flemming and The Swedish singer-songwriter Bjorn Ulvaeus (ABBA).
All three had one commonality: the power of communication.
Nazanin recounted being allowed a television restricted to safe channels … except one safe channel showed a day at Wimbledon on the day Andy Murray won the men’s challenge cup. It gave her huge hope…
The others had far deeper communications thoughts. I loved a section where the head of UK ‘spying’ interviewed the head of US ‘spying’ – with an interesting discussion on why they both agreed to alert the world to Putin’s invasion plans earlier this year…
But, it was Bjorn Ulvaeus who caught my ear, keeping it riveted. He was having an interesting conversation with an ‘unlikely’ guest: Sir Ben Ainslie.
Now, what do the two men have in common. Not a lot at first glance, however, they do in so many ways: communications. The use of AI (a recurrent feature during the week).
Sir Ben began to outline the use of modern communications and electronic wizardry in sailing – his type of sailing.
As all or most (for I hate the term all – such as ‘…we all love football.’ No, we don’t all love football!), so, most sailing folk know a little about the America’s Cup and the fact that having lost it in the inaugural race ‘we’ have never again held it. Sir Ben was explaining the intricacies of marrying a sailing vessel to AI and what he called ‘human machine interfaces…’
Sir Ben said tech was used to improve a boat’s performance to maximise potential – my words.
The boat though isn’t really a boat. Yes it floats, but a boat in normal language, no these ‘things’ aren’t. They are machines. Flying boats or aircraft if you like, but not, to my mind, a boat.
Yes, I know one has to have a broad outlook to ‘the sport’ and some good stuff filters down, but this form of ‘sailing’ is as much connected to the run of the mill boater as Formula One motor racing is to driving a family car, even though there are numb-nuts out there who think otherwise…
And, there is a similar breed afloat now. One can see them when out on the water. They stand at the wheel of a yacht of ever greater length and girth, staring fixedly at the big screen in front of the wheel, oblivious to craft around them and their need to obey the Rule of the Road.
In the past couple of years we have had to take avoiding action to preserve our wellbeing on several occasions!
That human machine interface needs a proximity alarm that cannot be switched off…
As my good mate remarked, having heard a piece of the interview: ‘…interface…’ she quipped, ‘that’s when I’m calling the depth when you drop the anchor…’
Indeed!
Aha, here comes a little addition for on New Year’s Eve, the Today programme continuing the theme of the week had the brilliant British-Nigerian computer scientist, Anne-Marie Imafidon guest editing. She first appeared on the programme some years ago – being a child prodigy in science, maths and languages – when she took he GCSE’s at 11.
Now, we were in for a stormer: there was a preamble about the fact that so much of our lives depends on SatNav – the Global Positioning System or GPS. The mathematics for this was largely proved by Dr Glady’s Mae West (b. 1930) from West Virginia, who first came to prominence during early NASA missions. Anne-Marie talked to the great lady’s daughter and there was a snip of an interview with the venerable doctor.
Two great ladies indeed and when one considers what the Taleban in Afghanistan are doing to women and girls’ education, who knows what minds are being stunted…
The GPS system was one bit of gadgetry that has benefited us yachtsmen to a level my grandfather could never have dreamed…
But, thank you BBC Radio 4 – it has been an enjoyable week listening over breakfast whilst champing at the bit to get out o the water.
Being prevented from grabbing a sail by damned weather…
AI can’t fix that!
Happy New Year to all my readers. We both wish you well for 2023.