The Dragon is incredibly proud of ODs continuing to reach for the sun and who, in doing so, have become hugely successful in a wide range of fields. From making a piece of history like Francesca Wilcox (OD 2013) to developing life-saving apps like Michael Dent (OD 2002), capturing snow leopards on camera like Dan O’Neil (OD 2005) to playing for England like Maia Bouchier (OD 2012) … Read on for the next feature in our Diversity of Dragons series, where the Dragon hears from the Chief Executive of Charisma.ai, Guy Gadney (OD 1982)
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“Arthur C Clarke’s famous quote that ‘any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic’ resonates with developments I’ve worked on over the years, perhaps can be charted back to the magic from Toad of Toad Hall, those days in the computer room, and the Dragon-instilled curiosity and confidence to explore the world and all it offers.”
My last term at the Dragon was one of those glorious warm summers. The pitches all had a slight yellow hue, and we were starting to think about the future. The Dragon had been given a group of boys and girls aged seven, but who would the men and women become?
As for me, I had trained in athletics, mentored by Mr Stuart-Clark Snr, and reached the five-star AAA badge after what felt like a decathlon of different events and challenges. But did I go into sport? No.
On the banks of the Cherwell that final term, I acted in Toad of Toad Hall with kayaks, a real vintage car for Toad, and more cast ending up in the river than strictly scripted. Simon Howard’s review said that the production’s direction was not just about the planning, but about “believing in the magic that can come once you discover the audience is there”. Did I ever have a successful career in drama? No.
Also in that final year, the Dragon invested in a new computer lab and bought a couple of BBC computers (yes the BBC was one of the most popular brands of PC at one point). John Kingman (now Sir, and Chair of Barclays UK and Legal & General), and I would pass time exploring this new world of technology, amazed at the possibilities. But did I become a computer programmer? Not quite.
I remember writing to headmaster Inky asking that the roller skaters be allowed onto the new all-weather pitch. The confidence to do this was not arrogance, just a Dragon-instilled belief that people in authority are accessible humans like the rest of us, as long as it’s done with respect. Of course, we then used desktops to build skate jumps which we’d race towards to see how many of our prone friends we could leap over without clipping them. But that’s just being a Dragon.
So as a career compass, I think the school instilled a sense of the art of the possible. A sense of exploring ‘what if?’. And in the past few decades, the best industry to explore this ‘what if?’ has been technology, especially creative technology. Science fiction used to predict decades in advance, but technology has caught up and new ideas are becoming a reality in months, weeks if not days.
Currently, Artificial Intelligence is capturing the world’s attention, and with reason. I started working in this area in the 1990s whilst Head of Digital for Penguin Books, combining the creativity of our authors and archives with the creativity of the programmers and technologists.
Fast forward to today and my role has become even more focused on bridging the creative and technology industries in AI. This even included setting up the technology company Charisma.ai to enable writers to create stories that simply could not be written before AI. These are stories where audiences can speak to fictional characters, and they speak back, responding emotionally and changing the story as a result. Imagine sitting at home watching Sherlock, and he asks for your help in solving a case. If what you say helps him, you’ll stay in the story. If you are rude then the story might go in a different direction.
As a result of Charisma.ai, I advise government funding for AI innovation in creative industries, contribute to the Board of Oxford’s Story Museum, and continually explore how new technologies can benefit creativity, storytelling, and society overall.
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Let us know what you’ve been up to since your Dragon Days, we’d love to share your story.
Header Image:
Guy in his production of Toad of Toad Hall at the Dragon
