Post by Herman De Vries

I did a run last week using the Strava app that got me thinking. And suffering, but that’s a completely different story. At Hypersolid, a large group of colleagues and running enthusiasts will be taking part in the business runs at both the Alkmaar City Run and the Dam-tot-Dam loop. To track each other trainings progress and motivate each other, we’ve introduced the Hyper Running club on the official Strava app. Next to painfully experiencing that 16K is quite a distance for me at this time, it also made me ponder on how technology can help us forward as a company. For me, being part of the Hypersolid running group on Strava works, because it helps me to become a better runner > First of all because it allows me to understand my runs and teaches me where to improve > Secondly because it motivates me to get out there after I see my colleagues putting their running shifts in So yes, I see you Renske Waardenburg Michiel Meiberg Romy Pront Roland Keesom Jeroen Zonneveld Krisztina Kovari Mirko Volkers Dian Kaagman But it also got me thinking on how this specific technology does not make you a good runner. With Strava, I can track my progress, see what others are doing and compare myself to them. But I still need to actually do the work to improve as a runner in order to achieve that progress. Giving someone who’s not good at running the Strava app and expecting them to be a good runner will lead to nothing. Without putting the effort in, they will not be able to complete a marathon. They need to strap on some running shoes and actually hit the road to make that happen. For me, that also applies to AI. As a CMO, I get bombarded with e-mails and DM’s of people explaining to me how the latest and greatest in AI will solve all my problems. And I’m just not (yet) buying into that. At the end of the day, AI is a great breakthrough, but still technology. And for me, technology in the hands of someone who doesn’t understand tech is useless. Just like the Strava app will not make you a great runner, AI will not make you a tech expert overnight. That’s why I’m happy to work at a company that has as many experienced tech leaders as we have at Hypersolid. Because I can confidently say that while nobody knows where this AI wave will take us, we have the people with the experience and knowledge to help us figure it out.