Tech Talk with Toni

  "You have not because you ask not" - James 4:2 Today’s inspiration comes from a recent conversation I had with a friend about AI. It took about five minutes for us to agree on one thing: AI is a supercharged dictionary. It retrieves, remixes, and summarizes information that already exists at blistering speed.  Where AI Shines (And Where It Doesn’t) AI is already doing useful, practical work across industries: In finance , it scans transactions for anomalies—very useful when you’re trying to spot fraud faster than a licensing officer giving out a ticket. In education , it tutors students on demand, explaining concepts in multiple ways without getting tired (or vex). In government and utilities , it helps analyze reports, policies, and data trends that would otherwise sit unread in a folder labeled “Final_Final_v7”. But notice the pattern. AI accelerates known work . It doesn’t decide what work matters. It doesn’t wake up one morning and ask, “Why does this system feel i...

"Life is hard, but that's what makes it interesting" - Dad It's time to break the silence once more! Things did not go as I planned, but it makes for a good story.  So you're probably wondering... " Toni, what happened? I thought you were coming back? " and to that I would say, I thought the same. I thought that I would get back in my groove and post blog 109 weeks ago! My simple hardware failure quickly escalated into a complex and costly international shipping disaster. It all started on November 7th at about 5 AM while I was clacking away on my keyboard, the display for my newly purchased Zenbook S16 decided that it was time to say goodbye. I made every attempt to reilluminate it by doing the famous "turn-it-off-and turn-it-back-on" trick and confirmed that it was a hardware issue with Asus Helpdesk. I still held a warranty , which was a relief. However, I had to send the laptop to the States so the manufacturer could fix it and send it ba...

The name October comes from the Latin “octo,” meaning eight . This morning, my dad asked about my blog. I winced — I’ve been dodging it since September! But that question was the nudge I needed. Because when I stopped to think, I realized:  even without posting, I’d been living. I hiked (and fell multiple times). Tried lobster for the first time. Met my coworkers in Barbados. And impulsively bought this... (I only had 1/4) All that living gave me plenty to reflect on — and two moments in particular stood out. 1. Women in Data Science (WiDS) TT Spotlight Talk Dr. Letetia Addison invited me to speak at the Women in Data Science TT Spotlight Talk — for the second time!  She actually found me through this very blog. I wasn’t publishing much here, but I was active on LinkedIn.  When it came time to prepare my WiDS talk, I had weeks, but I started only days before. Procrastination kept winning. Then came a call with my friend Carson White, we brainstormed ways in whic...

“Our whole economy is based on planned obsolescence.” — Brooks Stevens   My Lenovo IdeaPad 350 carried me through my Computer Science degree and even hosted the beginnings of this blog series.  It witnessed late-night coding marathons, countless essays, and the very first drafts of ideas I’m still exploring today. I’ve since upgraded to an ASUS Zenbook S16 (which I’m very happy with) , but my old laptop still sits quietly on a shelf, waiting for its final chapter. If you didn’t know, the average lifespan of a laptop is about five years. When I asked a few friends what they do with their old machines, most admitted they just… keep them.  I guess I know a lot of hoarders... But honestly, that’s still better than those who throw them away like an old pair of shoes. Here’s something to think about: the world generates over 50 million metric tons of e-waste each year , and only about 20% is recycled properly . That means millions of tons of toxic metals—like lead, mercury, an...

  How does AI generate value? Today’s post springs from an episode of Bloomberg Technology that put a spotlight on Bank of America’s AI-powered virtual assistant, Erica. Billions are being poured into artificial intelligence. But here’s the hard truth: an MIT study found that 95% of corporate AI projects fail to deliver measurable financial returns.  Only 5% make it past the pilot stage with a real boost to the bottom line.  So when Bank of America’s Erica racked up billions of interactions and over $1 billion in value , it’s worth paying attention. What did they do differently—and what can Caribbean banks learn from it? Erica by the Numbers Since 2018, Erica has: Surpassed 3 billion client interactions with tens of millions of customers. Pushed millions of proactive money alerts —from subscription hikes to unusual spending. Cut employee IT help-desk calls in half , with >90% staff adoption. Why Erica Works When Others Fail Real pain points first: Customers ...

  The prefix “giga” comes from Greek and means billion (that's nine zeros) This week, I caught an insightful chat between Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Cleo Abram.  The topic? GPT-5—the smarter, sleeker sibling of GPT-4o. Redditors are already complaining that GPT-5 feels “dry” (some were apparently attached to GPT-4o—lol), but in the AI world models change is the only constant, and these models are evolving fast! The Three Pillars Holding AI Back Altman says AI isn’t just about clever code—it’s about Data, Algorithmic Design, and Compute. Here’s the breakdown: 1. Data: Knowing Everything (But Not Really) GPT-5 has practically ingested all the content you can find online. It’s a walking encyclopedia with a dash of personality. But don’t be fooled—AI still struggles with the “1000-hour problems” while breezing through the 1-minute stuff. Creativity? That’s still our turf! AI can summarize, predict, and analyze, but it hasn’t yet learned how to imagine something that never e...