Product Insights for Emerging Technology

20 years in emerging tech — ex-Head of Product at Palantir, now founder of two ventures.

At Common Sense, we’re building modern agentic AI systems for local government — 100x increases in productivity across critical workflows that simplify civil service and delight citizens.

At First Principles, we help emerging tech companies generate massive value, ship faster, align teams, and unlock product-market fit or hypergrowth — through fractional product leadership and expert product coaching.

Whether it serves 10,000 users or 10 million residents, the system has to work — and keep working.

Sound like I can help you? Get in touch:

adam@firstprinciples.la or adam@commonsensetech.ai

Adam Judelson

A city once invited us in for an in-person working session.

We aligned the agenda, booked the flights, and landed.

Minutes before the meeting while we prepared in a nearby coffee shop, they cancelled due to an emergency.

Most teams would have stepped back and waited for a new date.

We didn’t.

We went to the building anyway, stood in the lobby, and said, “We’re here. We know the timing shifted. We’ll stay as long as you need.” Turns out, the opportunity to get ahead outweighed the crisis.

This should be the bare minimum when working with public institutions.

Show up. Make it easy. Remove friction. Respect their time.

The difference between us and the incumbents is simple. 

We want to have a conversation. 

We want to understand the work. 

We want to sit with the people responsible for keeping the city running.

And we believe that if the government is going to get faster and more effective, it starts with partners who are willing to be in the room, see the real constraints, and prove what they can do.

Building Common Sense (govtech) | Founder, First Principles | Product Insights for Emerging Tech | Ex-Palantir | 4x Venture-Backed Exec

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I just finished one of the most talked-about books in government right now, “Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future,” and it made me rethink something we see every day inside cities.

Wang’s core argument is that China became an engineering state, one that builds at speed and scale, while America became a lawyerly society that regulates, litigates, and creates veto points that block building.

The American “lawyerly” model has crucial advantages in protecting individual rights, constraining state overreach, and fostering a flexible, innovative society, even though it often slows physical building. He sees these legal and institutional strengths as exactly what China most needs to import, just as the U.S. should import some of China’s engineering spirit.

Local government sits right at the collision point of these two mindsets – cities need to build (housing, infrastructure, services) but operate inside a thicket of legal constraints and procedural requirements.

Most of the people I meet in government, across agencies, roles, and floors, genuinely care. They want things to work. They want residents to feel the difference.

Both types of thinking and action are crucial to progress, and the lack of understanding from these opposite optics causes the work to drag on, because every decision becomes defensive or about optics instead of outcomes.

Individuals start protecting themselves instead of the mission.

Wang’s point isn’t just about internal dysfunction – it’s about what happens when a society only optimizes for preventing bad outcomes rather than producing good ones. Local government has become very good at avoiding mistakes and needs work building things and taking bold, calculated risks. 

The question is whether we can recover some of that engineering ethos without losing the legal protections that matter to the world’s most important democratic republic.

Every city leader I meet wants faster service delivery with AI. And increasingly, the teams running those services want to deliver it.

But there’s a gap between enthusiasm and implementation.

The same AI doomerism questions come up in almost every conversation: “What if the AI makes a mistake?” “What if the AI misses something?” “What if the work or answer is incomplete?”

These are the right questions to ask. Public sector teams are accountable to their communities in ways that private companies aren’t, with a litigious public ready to pounce on mistakes. Every strong AI company must be able to explain how accuracy and quality are measured, for sure.

But it’s also worth asking: what’s the error rate in your current workflow? How much work is left entirely undone right now? How long are people waiting for answers or approvals under the status quo?

Because in most cases, the baseline isn’t perfection. It’s human staff working through hundreds of repetitive tasks under time pressure, applying convoluted legal frameworks, with inconsistent results.

The challenge isn’t that teams are being too careful. It’s that we’re measuring AI against an impossible standard while accepting a much higher error rate and set of delays from manual processes.

Government operations are excellent at managing long-tail risk.

But managing opportunity requires a different muscle to be flexed, one that involves controlled testing rather than comprehensive policy first.

AI won’t move in the public sector through white papers or policies alone. It will move through small, measured pilots that prove value in real-world conditions.

AI Advisor & Enterprise Architect | Guiding Europe’s AI Innovation & Compliance | Board Member, Author, Speaker | Based in Brussels, EU

AI Advisor & Technology Speaker | Top AI Voice | Board Member | Author | Enterprise Architect
Guiding Europe’s AI Innovation | 102K+ Followers | 50K+ AI Daily Nutshell Readers | Based in Brussels, EU

I am an AI Advisor, Technology Speaker, Board Member, Author, and Enterprise Architect based in Brussels, EU, helping professionals and organizations across Europe understand and adopt AI with clarity, confidence, and responsibility.

With a community of 102,000+ followers on LinkedIn and 50,000+ readers of my AI Daily Nutshell newsletter, I simplify complex AI topics and translate them into practical insights that leaders, teams, and individuals can act on immediately.

For over 20 years, I have worked across enterprise architecture, cloud, data centres, automation, and digital transformation. Today, my focus is on guiding Europe through the fast-evolving AI landscape — from emerging tools and responsible AI practices to policy, strategy, and the impact of the EU AI Act.

My mission is simple:
Make AI understandable for everyone, and empower Europe to innovate with purpose.

I speak at global tech summits, advise organizations on AI strategy, mentor startups, and engage daily with a global community eager to learn, grow, and stay ahead of change.

If you’re interested in:
• Simplifying AI in practical language
• Understanding AI trends shaping Europe
• Enterprise architecture and transformation
• The EU AI Act and responsible AI
• Emerging tools, future skills, and digital leadership
— you will find daily, value-driven content here.

📍 Based in Brussels, EU
🌍 Collaborating with organizations and communities across Europe and beyond
💬 Open to speaking engagements, advisory roles, and meaningful discussions on the future of AI

#AIEurope #EuropeTech #DigitalEurope #EuropeanInnovation
#Entrepreneurship #ITAdvisory #BoardMember #AIInnovation #BlockchainStrategist #TechVisionary

ChandraKumar R Pillai

ChatGPT was asked how to live to 140 years.

No biohacks.
No superfoods.
No billion-dollar routines.

The answer came from how people actually live, not what they consume.
The longest-living people on earth don’t obsess over longevity.
They obsess over meaning, connection, and inner peace.

Less stress.
More presence.

Real relationships over digital applause.
A reason to wake up that isn’t money.
And at least one person with whom you can be fully yourself.

Longevity isn’t extended by years alone.
It’s expanded by how alive you feel while living them.

Swipe through the rules.
Not to live longer.
But to live better.

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#chatgpt

ChatGPT

Same talent.
Same opportunities.
Different results.

The gap isn’t luck or timing.
It’s mindset + daily choices.
One path reacts, avoids discomfort, waits for motivation, quits early, and talks about people.

The other chooses intention, controlled discomfort, consistent action, course-correction, and ideas.
Nothing changes overnight.

But the habits you repeat every day quietly decide who you become.
Choose wisely.

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#success #motivation

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Growth

Most people don’t change because they lack information.
They change when reality hits hard enough.

These 11 images do exactly that.

No motivation.
No feel-good quotes.
Just visual proof of how time, effort, pain, patience, and priorities actually work.

You’ll see why comfort delays growth.
Why small choices compound.
Why ego is expensive.
And why most people wait too long to value what already matters.

Swipe slowly.
If one image makes you uncomfortable, that’s the lesson.

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11 IMAGES

10 AI skills that will quietly decide your career in 2026.

Not your degree.
Not your job title.
Not your years of experience.

AI is becoming the default layer of work.

If you don’t sit on top of it,
you’ll slowly fall under it.

AI won’t replace you.
But someone using AI better than you will.

Start stacking these now.
2026 is closer than it feels.

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#success

AI Skills

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you can’t see.

The quiet one.
The confident one.
The difficult one.
The “always fine” one.

We judge in seconds.
But understanding takes time.

Behind every action is a story.
Behind every reaction is a reason.

Pause before you assume.
Listen before you label.

The truth usually isn’t what it looks like.
Empathy changes everything.

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#leadership #empathy #success

We don’t have broken kids.
We have tired ones.

Under-slept.
Overstimulated.
Over-sugared.
Disconnected from nature.

Before labeling a child as a problem, ask:
What environment did we put them in?

The cure isn’t more medication.
It’s restoring real childhood.

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Kids

They were told no.
Rejected. Dismissed.

So they built anyway. 🏎️

The brands that rewrote automotive history weren’t backed by approval.
They were built by engineers who trusted engineering over opinions.

Obsessive testing.
Relentless iteration.
Mechanical purity when others played safe.

Not rebellion.
Precision.

The world remembers the logos.
It forgets how many times the answer was NO before the breakthrough.

Love technology?
This is how progress is made.

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Rejection ≠ Dismissed

F.L.Y — not a quote. A way to live.

First, love yourself.
Because everything starts there.

Live fully.
Not later. Not after permission. Today.

Face everything. Rise anyway.

Focus.
Follow one course until successful.

When it gets heavy:
Hold on. Pain ends.

One truth never changes:
Effort never dies.

Consistency builds what motivation can’t.
Keep flying.

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Most people scroll images for entertainment.
High performers extract lessons from them.

These 13 images aren’t aesthetic.
They’re uncomfortable.
They challenge assumptions you didn’t know you were living by.

Each frame carries a signal about power, patience, leverage, time, and human behavior.
Miss it, and it’s just another picture.
See it, and your thinking shifts permanently.

Don’t swipe fast.
Pause.
Decode the message.

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13 IMAGES WITH DEEP MEANING

Same 24 hours.
Different choices.

Which dad are you being today?

Your family doesn’t need perfection.
They need presence.
Physically. Spiritually. Emotionally.

That gap between who you are
and who God called you to be?
It closes with daily discipline.

Show up. Every day.

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Time

A wise man once said:

If you apply this, you win.
If you ignore it, nothing changes.

Swipe →

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A wise man once said:

Life before the internet wasn’t empty.
It was full just in a different way.

No algorithms deciding what you should see.
No dopamine hits on demand.
No pressure to perform, post, or prove.

Conversations had eye contact.
Memories lived in the mind, not the cloud.
Boredom wasn’t avoided it created imagination, ideas, and patience.

Time felt slower because it was actually lived.
Connection felt stronger because it was earned.

Swipe the carousel to revisit a world where being present mattered more than being online.

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Life before Internet

High income is loud.
Real wealth is quiet.

Veronika didn’t win the salary lottery.
No shortcuts. No insider edge.

Just boring habits:
▶️ invest a little
▶️ do it every month
▶️ don’t quit

While others spent and scrolled,
she stayed patient.

That’s how wealth is built.
Not with big moves —
but with small decisions repeated for years.

You don’t need to be rich to start.
You need to start to become rich.

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Real Wealth

Freedom feels good.
Competence compounds.

A Chinese mother was once asked
why she doesn’t ask her child’s opinion.

Her answer made many Western parents uneasy.

Kids don’t naturally optimize for long-term returns.
They choose play over effort.
Comfort over challenge.
Now over later.

That’s biology. Not failure.

Different cultures engineer for different outcomes.

One prioritises expression early.
The other prioritises capability early.

Both create adults.
Just… very different ones.

The data shows something uncomfortable:
Training before freedom compounds faster.

Freedom isn’t taken away.
It’s delayed.

And eventually, earned.

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Fun fact that changes how you think about money 👇

If something costs $800
and you buy it on sale for $500…

You didn’t save $300.
You spent $500.

Because savings isn’t about discounts.
It’s about intent.

If you didn’t plan to buy it at $800,
the “saving” never existed.

Sales don’t make you richer.
Better decisions do.

Money grows when you stop confusing
feeling smart with being smart.

Swipe → to see why this mindset matters more than any sale tag 💡

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#success

Fact

Most people aren’t broke on opportunity.
They’re broke on skills.

And the crazy part?

Some of the highest-leverage skills on the planet
are available for free.

No ads.
No fluff.
No “buy my course” nonsense.

Just real platforms that actually teach you something useful.

Here are 7 websites that offer FREE courses
Swipe → Learn → Execute → Win.

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7 WEBSITES THAT OFFER FREE COURSES

Time was never the enemy.
Lack of structure was.

Top performers don’t “manage time.”
They design their days with clear frameworks that eliminate decision fatigue before it even shows up.

While most people react to their calendars, high performers run proven systems that decide:
▶️ what gets attention
▶️ what gets ignored
▶️ and what actually moves the needle

This carousel breaks down 10 time-management frameworks used by top performers to stay focused, calm, and consistently ahead without longer hours or burnout.

Borrow the frameworks.
Upgrade how you use time.

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Time Management

Some images don’t just catch your eye.
They quietly rewire your thinking.

This carousel isn’t about shock value.
 It’s about perspective.

14 images.
14 moments where your brain pauses and says,
 “Wait… I never saw it that way.”

Sometimes growth doesn’t come from new information.
It comes from seeing the same world through a different lens.

Swipe slowly.
Let it land.

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#success

14 Images

A wealthy Sheikh in Dubai once told me:

“Money loves water.”

It took me years to understand what he meant.

Most people believe money disappears because they don’t earn enough.
That’s not the real reason.

Money behaves like water.

When it flows with intention, it grows.
When it sits still, it quietly evaporates.

I’ve seen people with the same income end up in completely different lives.

One kept everything “safe.”
No risks.
No new skills.
No growth.

Inflation did the rest.

The other kept money moving.
Into learning.
Into businesses.
Into boring, real assets.

Not perfect.
Plenty of mistakes.
But always in motion.

That’s the difference no one explains.

Wealth isn’t built by hoarding.
It’s built by circulation.

Move your money with purpose.
Into assets.
Into skills.
Into growth.

Save this.
It’ll make sense later.

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Money

𝗝𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻.
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱.

No ranks.
No pressure-filled report cards.
No labeling kids as “topper” or “average.”

Instead, Japan focused on something radical:

→ Curiosity over cramming
→ Learning pace over comparison
→ Character over marks

Teachers started observing:
How a child thinks.
How they solve problems.
How they collaborate.
How they handle failure.

And here’s what happened:

✔ Less anxiety, more confidence
✔ Better problem-solving skills
✔ Stronger emotional intelligence
✔ Kids who actually enjoy learning

The biggest takeaway?

Exams measure memory.
Life measures understanding.

When education shifts from proving intelligence
to building intelligence,
everything changes.

Maybe the future of learning isn’t about asking
“How much did you score?”
but “How well did you grow?”

Food for thought.

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The Battle

Adam Judelson

ChandraKumar R Pillai

Followers

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Performance ScoreAdam Judelson's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreChandraKumar R Pillai's LinkedIn Performance

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The Battle

Adam Judelson

ChandraKumar R Pillai

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Adam Judelson's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreChandraKumar R Pillai's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreAdam Judelson's LinkedIn Performance