Tom Raftery

17 Nov 2024

I created two Starter Packs for folks looking to find their tribes here. The first is Climate podcasters - bsky.app/starter-pack... And the second is Supply Chain - bsky.app/starter-pack... In both cases if you feel I have missed someone, let me know and I'll add them

17h

First exit polls out in Israeli election.

jurinews.com.brFederal Police trigger Argentine authorities after suspected escape of Flávio BolsonaroPF triggers Argentine authorities after suspected escape of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Check out the details of the country's exit ban and the clearance

22h

Bolsonaro's done a runner? jurinews.com.br/en/destaques...

newsletter.tomraftery.comSubscribe | FutureProof: Tom's Tech and Sustainability DigestThe latest news at the intersection of technology and sustainability

Radical Numerics says AI-designed phages reached a patient under compassionate use. Outcomes are undisclosed; safety and efficacy remain unproven. Subscribe to my free FutureProof weekly newsletter for tech news with context: newsletter.tomraftery.com/subscribe

newsletter.tomraftery.comSubscribe | FutureProof: Tom's Tech and Sustainability DigestThe latest news at the intersection of technology and sustainability

September battery-electric registrations rose 70.3% year on year across 17 European markets, reaching 32.6% of new car sales in that sample. Follow electrification in my weekly FutureProof digest: newsletter.tomraftery.com/subscribe

newsletter.tomraftery.comSubscribe | FutureProof: Tom's Tech and Sustainability DigestThe latest news at the intersection of technology and sustainability

Endolith aims to recover at least 10% more copper from low-grade ores using microbes. Commercial-scale results remain unproven. Subscribe to FutureProof for technology and sustainability news with context: newsletter.tomraftery.com/subscribe

elpais.comEmpleados de Meta admiten en mensajes internos que el alcance de las cuentas de Lula fue restringido y el de Bolsonaro favorecidoLa tecnológica alega fallos técnicos mientras el equipo del presidente lleva el caso a la OEA

Meta swaying elections. Again. Empleados de Meta admiten en mensajes internos que el alcance de las cuentas de Lula fue restringido y el de Bolsonaro favorecido elpais.com/america/2026...

Enterprise AI is exposing a problem many companies have been quietly living with for years: data that works because humans know what it really means. Once machines start making decisions, that hidden context becomes operational risk. #ai #artificialintelligence #agenticai

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I’ve started thinking of this as “semantic debt”: years of undocumented definitions, exceptions and tribal knowledge that remained invisible because people compensated. Kismet: AI doesn’t create that debt. It starts charging interest on it.

tomraftery.comAI Is Exposing the Data Problems Humans Used to Hide - Tom Raftery.comEnterprise AI is exposing a hidden weakness: data systems that worked because people supplied missing context. As machines start making operational decisions, semantic debt becomes a business risk.

As AI moves from analysis to action, competitive advantage may depend less on who has the smartest model and more on who can explain precisely what their own data means. I explore that argument in full here: tomraftery.com/2026/10/12/a... #AgenticAI #SupplyChain

McKinsey reported in 2026 that just 7% of companies had fully scaled AI, while more than two-thirds of high-performing companies identified data as their primary obstacle. The bottleneck is shifting from model capability to organisational context.

That has practical consequences. An AI agent can spot procurement leakage across thousands of transactions. But if supplier identities, contract terms or definitions are inconsistent, it can also automate that leakage faster than a human team ever could.

Take “order delivery date”. Warehouse may mean the truck has left. Finance may mean the customer has received the goods and revenue can be recognised. Both can be technically correct. An AI agent still has to know which meaning applies.

This is why “clean data” is no longer enough. Accuracy, completeness and consistency matter. But AI also needs semantics, provenance, freshness, ownership and intended use. A perfectly formatted field can still be wrong for the decision being made.

tomraftery.comAI Is Exposing the Data Problems Humans Used to HideEnterprise AI is exposing a hidden weakness: data systems that worked because people supplied missing context. As machines start making operational decisions, semantic debt becomes a business risk.

AI is exposing a dirty secret in enterprise data: many systems worked because humans quietly supplied missing context. As machines start making decisions, semantic debt, provenance and meaning may matter more than having the smartest model.

Tom Raftery reposted

Prof Ray Wills

@profraywills.futuresmart.com.au

USA is a belligerent petrostate China is the innovative electrostate Europe appears to be just in a State of Confusion My interview on Climate Confident with @tomraftery.com (and a call out to @mliebreich.bsky.social)

Prof Ray Wills@profraywills.futuresmart.com.au

We are living through the fastest energy transition in human history - we are still having difficulty accepting that it can be this fast We are at the pointy end now. 5 years ago, getting it wrong did not carry you terribly far into the future From here on, it will be scary if you get it wrong

Would you buy a car that disappeared when its manufacturer went bust? Wayne Scott uses that comparison to explain a risk with cloud software. I’ve put four moments from my Resilient Supply Chain podcast into this reel.

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Olaf van der Veen doesn’t mind whether a customer wants a more sustainable business or a bigger car. His argument: cutting food waste saves money either way. That leaves room for a fairly wide range of motivations.

resilientsupplychainpodcast.comResilient Supply Chain — How Leaders Keep Business MovingResilient Supply Chain is for supply chain, operations, procurement and technology leaders who need practical ways to manage disruption, reduce risk and keep business moving.Each Monday, former SAP Gl...

These are four short moments from the Resilient Supply Chain archive. For the full conversations, follow the podcast wherever you listen. You’ll find the archive and listening links here: resilientsupplychainpodcast.com

Procurement saves the business money. The response? “Why didn’t you find savings last year?” Spencer Penn on the peculiar experience of delivering a result and still having to defend yourself. Preventing a crisis can be an equally thankless job.

@AshleyAmbassadorLeader💙💪

Terry Boyle says free returns incentivise bad behaviour. Then comes the difficult part: he’s not sure retailers can stay competitive without them. How do you change a practice your customers have come to expect?

Tom Raftery reposted

@ashleythewriter.bsky.social

22 Sept

As a Type1DiabeticAdvocate and now ambassador heres an article i have just written ❤️ this issue is so important to me ❤️ Let me ask you can u imagine a world without Type1 diabetes Love you mary ❤️ you are my hero #Demcast #ProudBlue #Door #GTS ashleyloveswriting.substack.com/p/can-you-im...

ashleyloveswriting.substack.comCan You Imagine a World Without Type 1 Diabetes?By a Type1DiabeticAdvocate & Community Ambassador

youtube.comEarth, Wind & Fire - September (Official HD Video)YouTube video by EarthWindandFireVEVO

21 Sept

Todays' the day - do you remember? www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs06...

18 Sept

The Grid Is Becoming Industrial Policy - Grid access is becoming a constraint on factories, data centres, renewables and electrification. Power infrastructure is moving from an energy issue to an industrial strategy issue.... https://tomraftery.com/2026/09/18/the-grid-is-becoming-industrial-policy/

18 Sept

Best name for this cat? I’ll go first - Richard? John Thomas? Willy? Over to you friends…

17 Sept

In case you’re depressed from all the doomscrolling, allow me to brighten your timeline a little!

17 Sept

Viagra, Botox, Humira, Ozempic and Wegovy amongst others are only manufactured in Europe. Your move Donnie!

15 Sept

The Content Compounds Long Before the Audience Does Reaching 100,000 YouTube subscribers was gratifying, but the number is less interesting than what accumulated along the way. Years of specialist interviews… https://tomraftery.com/2026/09/15/the-content-compounds-long-before-the-audience-does/

@profraywills.futuresmart.com.au

13 Sept

When a Podcast Archive Becomes a Research System A peer-reviewed paper based on 52 of my podcast interviews made me realise I had built more than a content archive. Here’s how I now turn hundreds of transcripts into… https://tomraftery.com/2026/09/13/when-podcast-archive-becomes-research-system/

Tom Raftery reposted

Prof Ray Wills

9 Sept

Solar, Batteries and EVs Are Turning Delay Into an Investment Risk The fastest shift in energy in human history 2026 the pointy bit If you got it wrong 5 years ago, get started now But don't, & from now on, you'll fall behind This freshly minted. Have a listen to these blokes youtu.be/W6TAoIpMPIg

youtu.beSolar, Batteries and EVs Are Turning Delay Into an Investment RiskYouTube video by Tom Raftery: Sustainability & Climate Talks

7 Sept

One of the most powerful photos I’ve ever seen. Israel’s name will forever live in infamy. Photo taken by Omar Ashtawy

7 Sept

The end of an era? Meep, meep 🛣️🏃‍♂️

kia.comTerms and Exclusions: Kia 7 Year Warranty | Kia UKLearn more about the terms and exclusions of the Kia’s 7 Year Warranty for our current models.

Your phone is a terrible crystal ball for an EV battery. Both bought in Dec 2024: iPhone 16 Pro: 93% maximum capacity. Kia EV3: 100% reported battery health. But my car isn't what settles the "new battery every three years" argument. The larger datasets are. #ElectricVehicles

For example, Kia UK's EV capacity warranty covers repair/replacement below 70%: 8 years/100,000 miles, whichever comes first, for cars registered from 2024. Terms vary by market and model. www.kia.com/uk/owners/in...

recurrentauto.comNew Data: How Long Do Electric Car Batteries Last?We get a lot of questions from our community about electric car batteries. That is partly because the cost of battery replacement is so high (more on that later), but it is also due to limited informa...

Next time someone says "new EV battery every three years", ask: Which model? Which model year? How many replacements, out of how many cars? Source? Real-world data supports gradual wear and uncommon replacement, not a three-year countdown. Share the evidence, not the scare story.

Capacity loss isn't battery failure. At 80% capacity, a battery stores less energy. It hasn't become useless. A warranty threshold isn't an expiry date. Does the remaining range still meet your needs? www.recurrentauto.com/research/how...

An out-of-warranty pack replacement can be expensive. But a scary invoice tells you the price of one failure, not how likely you are to face it. Repair cost and replacement frequency are different questions. www.recurrentauto.com/research/how...

Recurrent's 2025 study of its 30,000+ EV community: under 4% had batteries replaced, excluding major recalls. The sample includes 10+ year-old cars. That's observed to date, not lifetime odds for every EV. www.recurrentauto.com/research/how...

geotab.comEV Battery Health: Key Findings from 22,700 Vehicle Data Analysis | GeotabAnalysis of electric vehicle battery health of 22K+ EVs reveals a 2.3% average battery degradation rate. High-power DC fast charging is the top risk factor.

Many EV batteries get serious protection: temperature management and buffers that limit how far cells charge and discharge. That doesn't make them indestructible. Heat, chemistry and charging habits still matter. www.geotab.com/blog/ev-batt...

Geotab's 2026 update: 22,700+ EVs, 21 models. Average capacity loss: 2.3% per year. That's gradual wear, not a three-year replacement schedule. It's also an average, not a promise for every car. www.geotab.com/blog/ev-batt...

adac.deVW ID.3 im Dauertest: Wie schlägt sich das Elektroauto nach 220.000 km?Das Elektroauto aus Wolfsburg beweist sich als echter Langstreckenläufer.

Five years. 220,000 km (137,000 miles). Still 89% battery health. ADAC's long-term VW ID.3 test, July 2026. One car, yes. But an awkward result for the "new battery every three years" story. www.adac.de/rund-ums-fah...

My screenshot starts the conversation; it doesn't prove the case. 100% reported health doesn't mean zero ageing. The phone and car have different usage and measurement methods. The "replace it every three years" claim needs to survive contact with much bigger datasets.

4 Sept

Long-duration energy storage is not waiting for one perfect invention. It needs markets that value time, contracts investors can finance and infrastructure that can deliver. My new evidence-led briefing examines what must change, and why grids are the next part of the…

2 Sept

A technically successful AI pilot is not necessarily a production capability. New research from the Resilient Supply Chain archive identifies four strongly supported reasons promising models struggle to create lasting operational value—and what leaders should test before scaling.

@patrickmaroney.bsky.social

31 Aug

The Visibility Trap: Why Seeing More Does Not Make Supply Chains Resilient Despite significant investments in technology, businesses often fail to act effectively on incoming data due to… https://tomraftery.com/2026/08/31/the-visibility-trap-why-seeing-more-does-not-make-supply-chains-resilient/

Tom Raftery reposted

P Maroney

29 Aug

Replying to @tomraftery.com

The world has lost a great light 😢 Dolly Parton donated her time, talent and treasure. To make making this a more equitable world. Her life is great example for all. Did you know ⬇️ bsky.app/profile/patr...

P Maroney@patrickmaroney.bsky.social

Did you know that Dolly Parton donated $1 million to fund pediatric infectious disease research? www.prevention.com/health/a4031... She donated 10s of millions of dollars & 100s of millions of books to various charities throughout her legendary career What an amazing human🫶 We will miss you💔

prevention.comDolly Parton Just Donated Another $1 Million to Medicine—This Time, for Kids“No child should ever have to suffer.”

rte.ieDolly Parton, music legend, dies aged 80The death has been announced of the music legend Dolly Parton. She was 80.

30 Aug

This new remake looks shit

FFS! The wrong 80 year old died. RTÉ News: Dolly Parton, music legend, dies aged 80 www.rte.ie/entertainmen...