Finnish-Australian technologist/humanist/pragmatist. Interested in a lot within a certain spectrum; e.g. AI, aviation, foresight. Post-mortem optimist. https://transitionlevel.aero/ https://linkedin.com/in/smakelainenhttps://bsky.app/profile/smakelainen.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/smakelainen.bsky.social/post/3ma63nf2tdk2gI have a new-ish Substack. New today: l lost it over a series of things happening in Finland. https://open.substack.com/pub/transitionlevel/p/ashamed-of-home?r=1neft&utm_medium=ios17 Dec 2025 07:00 +0000at://did:plc:tcicig2plgakefayjwehp6ew/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma63nf2tdk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/smakelainen.bsky.social/post/3ma2rpdfpmc23Remember how OpenAI recently simplified their model selection? Yeah me neither.15 Dec 2025 23:24 +0000at://did:plc:tcicig2plgakefayjwehp6ew/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma2rpdfpmc23https://bsky.app/profile/smakelainen.bsky.social/post/3liurdoyruk2yAI for chores? We've had it for decades. Now, what are you doing with all that saved time? https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/want-ai-do-your-chores-already-does-sami-m%C3%A4kel%C3%A4inen-wdmuc/23 Feb 2025 21:22 +0000at://did:plc:tcicig2plgakefayjwehp6ew/app.bsky.feed.post/3liurdoyruk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/smakelainen.bsky.social/post/3lddgmtnhyc2c It may not surprise you that I have some thoughts on AI. Here are a few of them on @kvdrd.bsky.social's Substack - hopefully some food for thought to your silly season. https://kendravant.substack.com/p/sami-makelainen-on-data-and-ai-in15 Dec 2024 08:49 +0000at://did:plc:tcicig2plgakefayjwehp6ew/app.bsky.feed.post/3lddgmtnhyc2chttps://bsky.app/profile/smakelainen.bsky.social/post/3lczfaj2nv22qMy electric toothbrush has gained consciousness and is trying to communicate in the only way it can. The robot uprising has started. I mean that *is* the only possible explanation, right? 😅11 Dec 2024 08:58 +0000at://did:plc:tcicig2plgakefayjwehp6ew/app.bsky.feed.post/3lczfaj2nv22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/smakelainen.bsky.social/post/3lcvm72jyus2p The prevalence of violence against women in Australia is alarming. Now guess where it’s even worse, with less being done about it? Finland – a global leader in gender equality, progressive policies, and a shining example of fairness. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/finland-take-lesson-from-down-under-sami-m%C3%A4kel%C3%A4inen-knodc/09 Dec 2024 20:52 +0000at://did:plc:tcicig2plgakefayjwehp6ew/app.bsky.feed.post/3lcvm72jyus2phttps://bsky.app/profile/smakelainen.bsky.social/post/3lca7ztagzk2rI *know* it's possible to make IT systems responsive, so why the fuck companies like Woolies and Coles don't is beyond me. The UX of using an Aldi self-checkout is 10x better than those two.01 Dec 2024 08:48 +0000at://did:plc:tcicig2plgakefayjwehp6ew/app.bsky.feed.post/3lca7ztagzk2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/smakelainen.bsky.social/post/3lbv2dh3blc22This is exactly the kind of automation I don't want to see, but at the same time, it's exactly the kind of automation we all knew we're getting. https://restofworld.org/2024/ai-reshaping-call-center-work-philippines/26 Nov 2024 22:07 +0000at://did:plc:tcicig2plgakefayjwehp6ew/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbv2dh3blc22https://bsky.app/profile/smakelainen.bsky.social/post/3lbtvuc33qk22What in the fresh hell is this? As if AI in writing wasn't a complex enough of an issue without such moves. https://www.thebookseller.com/news/new-publisher-spines-aims-to-disrupt-industry-by-using-ai-to-publish-8000-books-in-2025-alone26 Nov 2024 11:14 +0000at://did:plc:tcicig2plgakefayjwehp6ew/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbtvuc33qk22https://bsky.app/profile/smakelainen.bsky.social/post/3lbt5kjtmxk27A small signal of affluence and cultural attitude. In Finland, bottle / container refunds like these are carefully collected; most wouldn’t dream of donating them to charity. Here, it’s built-in. I wonder how what the recovery rates are going to be though.26 Nov 2024 03:59 +0000at://did:plc:tcicig2plgakefayjwehp6ew/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbt5kjtmxk27https://bsky.app/profile/smakelainen.bsky.social/post/3lbarurtwd227Looking forward to tomorrow when I'll be speaking at the RAeS AI in Civil Aviation and Airports Summit. I have always had a passing interest (*cough* obsession *cough*) in aviation, so it's great to be able to combine that with some other passions. Excited! https://www.aerosociety.com/events-calendar/raes-ai-in-civil-aviation-and-airports-summit/18 Nov 2024 20:42 +0000at://did:plc:tcicig2plgakefayjwehp6ew/app.bsky.feed.post/3lbarurtwd227https://bsky.app/profile/smakelainen.bsky.social/post/3lazqudwzfs26Like many of you, I came here from the smoldering, smelly remains of Twitter. I've been inactive for over a year and still find myself thinking "this would make a good tweet", so let's try and use this as an outlet for those, honestly quite random, thoughts. Welcome 🙂16 Nov 2024 01:35 +0000at://did:plc:tcicig2plgakefayjwehp6ew/app.bsky.feed.post/3lazqudwzfs26