One way to think about Digital Twins is that they are virtual representations of your actual assets . . . perhaps think about them as Virtual Assets. However you think about Digital Twins, you can benefit from the National Institute of Building Science’ web series on the subject. See more below in Sources.
This week’s ALN Th@3 will explain why the upcoming ALN Book Club Discussion series is focused on “Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI” by Yuri Noah Harari. ALN Th@3 pm ET will be led by ALN Chair Jim Dieter, ALN Chair and CEO, explaining how the book can be seen in terms of Asset Leadership and Asset Management. See more below in People and Ideas below.
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People
Yuri Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, professor, and bestselling author who has sold more than 45 million books in 65 languages. His book “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind,” was the catalyst for establishing a company titled Sapienship that has projects in Storytelling and Education to focus public conversation on the most critical issues facing humanity. His book “Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI” published in 2024 looks into the intricate relationship between information and truth, bureaucracy and mythology, wisdom and power and challenges readers to face the ways humans can positively shape the dramatic change to human existence that Artificial Intelligence presents. ALN Th@3 pm ET this week will explore how to leverage the book to address Asset Leadership in an increasingly challenging time. Register at this link.
Sources
NIBs Digital Twin
The National Institute of Building Sciences ended its 50th Anniversary year with a Digital Twins Summit. The success of that event in December 2024 encouraged NIBS to have a free Digital Twins web series this year. The series continues with the program focused on energy savings and sustainability today at 1 pm Eastern. Two more programs, on March 13 and March 26, will cover standards and challenges to implementation. See more below in Up Coming Events.
Ideas
Information Networks
“Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI” by Yuval Noah Harari is a portal to new ideas, new ways of thinking, and new ways of understanding, all with remarkable relevance to Asset Management and especially to Asset Leadership. The ALN Book Club discussion of Nexus will greet these ideas, and begin the process of understanding their applicability and practicality to assets, asset systems, and asset networks and the information we use to navigate them. This week’s ALN Th@3 pm ET will feature Jim Dieter, ALN Chair and CEO, giving an overview of the book. Register at this link. The first ALN Book Club Discussion is Tuesday 25 March at 3 pm ET. Register for the Discussion at this link.
“The point is that even the most truthful accounts of reality can never represent it in full. There are always some aspects of reality that are neglected or distorted in every representation. Truth, then, isn’t a one-to-one representation of reality. Rather, truth is something that brings our attention to certain aspects of reality while inevitably ignoring other aspects. No account of reality is 100 percent accurate, but some accounts are nevertheless more truthful than others.”
“… what information does is to create new realities by tying together disparate things—whether couples or empires. Its defining feature is connection rather than representation, and information is whatever connects different points into a network. Information doesn’t necessarily inform us about things. Rather, it puts things in formation. Horoscopes put lovers in astrological formations, propaganda broadcasts put voters in political formations, and marching songs put soldiers in military formations.”
Harari, Yuval Noah. Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI (p. 10). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Upcoming Events
March 20 – Jim Dieter, ALN Chair and CEO, will preview the ALN Book Club Discussion of “Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI” by Yuval Noah Harari.
March 25 – ALN Book Club – First Discussion
Because the human evolution of tools and processes grows increasingly complex, information management becomes a critical element of Asset Management. A policy requiring the use of secure, open standards can allow information from all categories of assets to flow to top leadership and others for confident decision making. Once a policy is in place, a Strategic Asset Management Plan establishes the overarching direction for many elements of operation and then specific Asset Management Plans establish the desired use of tools and processes for each asset category. However, more fully understanding information networks is good to do before establishing policy. Therefore, the first ALN Book Club will read “Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI.” The three sections of the book by Yuval Noah Harari will be discussed on the last Tuesday of February, March, and April at 3 pm Eastern. Jim Dieter, ALN Chair and CEO will lead the discussions. Mr. Dieter says the book provides important new ways to think about information, networks, documents, bureaucracy, and more issues that are extremely relevant for asset leadership and asset management. See more details about signing up for the ALN Book Club discussions and the importance of the book at this link.