Brian Madden
@bmad.com
VP & Futurist at Citrix. AI + knowledge work. Built a second brain, published it at brianmadden.ai. 32 yrs in enterprise tech. Paris.
Apple's latest UI simplification makes me feel like we're another step closer to idiocracy.
Is this to prepare for the transition to a touch-based macOS. Or because hoomans are too simple-minded to do anything but simple tasks? ("Sir, your AI CUA is here, please step away from the drop-down menu.")
Is this to prepare for the transition to a touch-based macOS. Or because hoomans are too simple-minded to do anything but simple tasks? ("Sir, your AI CUA is here, please step away from the drop-down menu.")
March 12, 2026 at 10:44 AM
Apple's latest UI simplification makes me feel like we're another step closer to idiocracy.
Is this to prepare for the transition to a touch-based macOS. Or because hoomans are too simple-minded to do anything but simple tasks? ("Sir, your AI CUA is here, please step away from the drop-down menu.")
Is this to prepare for the transition to a touch-based macOS. Or because hoomans are too simple-minded to do anything but simple tasks? ("Sir, your AI CUA is here, please step away from the drop-down menu.")
OpenAI released GPT-5.4 thinking today. It has native computer use capabilities and scored 75% on the OSWorld benchmark. The median human is 72.4%.
March 5, 2026 at 7:53 PM
OpenAI released GPT-5.4 thinking today. It has native computer use capabilities and scored 75% on the OSWorld benchmark. The median human is 72.4%.
Introducing: the "Cognitive Stack".
Whenever you think about how AI impacts work, be specific about which part of the stack you're talking about.
citrix.com/blogs/2026/02/25/understanding-the-cognitive-stack-why-your-ai-strategy-is-focused-on-the-wrong-layer/
Whenever you think about how AI impacts work, be specific about which part of the stack you're talking about.
citrix.com/blogs/2026/02/25/understanding-the-cognitive-stack-why-your-ai-strategy-is-focused-on-the-wrong-layer/
March 5, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Introducing: the "Cognitive Stack".
Whenever you think about how AI impacts work, be specific about which part of the stack you're talking about.
citrix.com/blogs/2026/02/25/understanding-the-cognitive-stack-why-your-ai-strategy-is-focused-on-the-wrong-layer/
Whenever you think about how AI impacts work, be specific about which part of the stack you're talking about.
citrix.com/blogs/2026/02/25/understanding-the-cognitive-stack-why-your-ai-strategy-is-focused-on-the-wrong-layer/
I published and open sourced my second brain as an open-source knowledge module any AI can load.
No chatbot. No website to read. Your AI connects via MCP and reasons with all my articles, frameworks, and current thinking on workplace AI.
brianmadden.ai
No chatbot. No website to read. Your AI connects via MCP and reasons with all my articles, frameworks, and current thinking on workplace AI.
brianmadden.ai
brianmadden.ai — Brian Madden's expert knowledge module for AI
Brian Madden's published frameworks, arguments, and frontier thinking on AI and knowledge work—structured so any AI assistant can load it.
brianmadden.ai
March 2, 2026 at 5:10 PM
I published and open sourced my second brain as an open-source knowledge module any AI can load.
No chatbot. No website to read. Your AI connects via MCP and reasons with all my articles, frameworks, and current thinking on workplace AI.
brianmadden.ai
No chatbot. No website to read. Your AI connects via MCP and reasons with all my articles, frameworks, and current thinking on workplace AI.
brianmadden.ai
Your CEO just sent the company-wide "We're now AI-first" memo. Now what?
Trying to figure out "where to apply AI", or "what's our AI strategy?" is the wrong question. The right question is: "What will we do when the things we value in system change?"
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
Trying to figure out "where to apply AI", or "what's our AI strategy?" is the wrong question. The right question is: "What will we do when the things we value in system change?"
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
May 20, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Your CEO just sent the company-wide "We're now AI-first" memo. Now what?
Trying to figure out "where to apply AI", or "what's our AI strategy?" is the wrong question. The right question is: "What will we do when the things we value in system change?"
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
Trying to figure out "where to apply AI", or "what's our AI strategy?" is the wrong question. The right question is: "What will we do when the things we value in system change?"
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
In 2025, work no longer lives in a fixed location—it emerges dynamically, wherever a worker connects to a workspace.
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
May 6, 2025 at 12:33 PM
In 2025, work no longer lives in a fixed location—it emerges dynamically, wherever a worker connects to a workspace.
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
What does "AI" mean at Citrix?
When we talk about AI, we're probably talking about one of these three things:
1. AI in our products
2. AI we use internally
3. AI shaping our customers’ workplaces
Details are in my latest blog post:
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
When we talk about AI, we're probably talking about one of these three things:
1. AI in our products
2. AI we use internally
3. AI shaping our customers’ workplaces
Details are in my latest blog post:
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
What does “AI” mean at Citrix? - Citrix Blogs
What is Citrx's AI strategy? Brian Madden takes a closer look at how Citrix is looking at AI and incorporating it into its products and across the organization.
www.citrix.com
April 21, 2025 at 2:54 PM
What does "AI" mean at Citrix?
When we talk about AI, we're probably talking about one of these three things:
1. AI in our products
2. AI we use internally
3. AI shaping our customers’ workplaces
Details are in my latest blog post:
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
When we talk about AI, we're probably talking about one of these three things:
1. AI in our products
2. AI we use internally
3. AI shaping our customers’ workplaces
Details are in my latest blog post:
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
Shopify CEO’s leaked memo is brutal—and brilliant.
Meetings, Slack, tools… all friction. It’s a manifesto for the real future of work:
AI-augmented workers cutting through the noise from the bottom up. Not someday. Now.
Execs everywhere are feeling this.
Meetings, Slack, tools… all friction. It’s a manifesto for the real future of work:
AI-augmented workers cutting through the noise from the bottom up. Not someday. Now.
Execs everywhere are feeling this.
April 17, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Shopify CEO’s leaked memo is brutal—and brilliant.
Meetings, Slack, tools… all friction. It’s a manifesto for the real future of work:
AI-augmented workers cutting through the noise from the bottom up. Not someday. Now.
Execs everywhere are feeling this.
Meetings, Slack, tools… all friction. It’s a manifesto for the real future of work:
AI-augmented workers cutting through the noise from the bottom up. Not someday. Now.
Execs everywhere are feeling this.
Your workers didn't wait for your permission before bringing AI into your org. Now what do you do about it?
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
Making sense of AI in the workplace: A starting point for leaders - Citrix Blogs
While companies debate AI strategy, workers are already using it. In this post, Brian Madden explores what’s really happening and what leaders must do next.
www.citrix.com
April 14, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Your workers didn't wait for your permission before bringing AI into your org. Now what do you do about it?
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
I'm blogging again, this time from the official Citrix blog site(!) I'll be writing weekly about the future of work, AI in the workplace, the evolution of Citrix, and what I'm seeing in the industry and the inside Citrix.
First post is live about my 6 weeks at Citrix: www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
First post is live about my 6 weeks at Citrix: www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
April 7, 2025 at 1:19 PM
I'm blogging again, this time from the official Citrix blog site(!) I'll be writing weekly about the future of work, AI in the workplace, the evolution of Citrix, and what I'm seeing in the industry and the inside Citrix.
First post is live about my 6 weeks at Citrix: www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
First post is live about my 6 weeks at Citrix: www.citrix.com/blogs/2025/0...
I'll bet you didn't have this on your 2025 bingo card: I just joined Citrix! Details here: www.linkedin.com/posts/bmadde...
Brian Madden on LinkedIn: I just joined Citrix!
Those who know me know I’ve spent my 30-year career…
I just joined Citrix!
Those who know me know I’ve spent my 30-year career orbiting Citrix. From the early years (last century!) when I worked with WinFrame &…
www.linkedin.com
February 18, 2025 at 3:04 PM
I'll bet you didn't have this on your 2025 bingo card: I just joined Citrix! Details here: www.linkedin.com/posts/bmadde...
Reposted by Brian Madden
As I told Manoush on @npr.org yesterday, this last wave of tech (social media, search, etc.) helped people access information. AI instead helps people create new knowledge and ideas. That's why this moment feels so different—that’s why it matters so much. www.npr.org/2024/12/20/g...
AI pioneer Mustafa Suleyman shares his vision for the future of AI
Mustafa Suleyman has played a pivotal role in the evolution of AI, as co-founder of DeepMind and now as CEO of Microsoft AI. This hour, he reflects on his career and shares his vision for the future.
www.npr.org
December 21, 2024 at 10:51 PM
As I told Manoush on @npr.org yesterday, this last wave of tech (social media, search, etc.) helped people access information. AI instead helps people create new knowledge and ideas. That's why this moment feels so different—that’s why it matters so much. www.npr.org/2024/12/20/g...
Reposted by Brian Madden
o3 looks too expensive for most use (for now). But for work in academia, finance & many industrial problems, paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a successful answer would not be prohibitive. If it is generally reliable, o3 will have multiple use cases even before costs inevitably drop.
December 22, 2024 at 9:55 AM
o3 looks too expensive for most use (for now). But for work in academia, finance & many industrial problems, paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a successful answer would not be prohibitive. If it is generally reliable, o3 will have multiple use cases even before costs inevitably drop.
Reposted by Brian Madden
Bluesky can be a fraught place to post about AI but it is worth noting that the buzz over o1 (& now o3) is not “hype.” We know o1 can actually do some very hard tasks (see my post) & o3 appears to represent a big further leap.
They aren’t AGI, but will matter. www.oneusefulthing.org/p/what-just-...
They aren’t AGI, but will matter. www.oneusefulthing.org/p/what-just-...
What just happened
A transformative month rewrites the capabilities of AI
www.oneusefulthing.org
December 22, 2024 at 10:05 AM
Bluesky can be a fraught place to post about AI but it is worth noting that the buzz over o1 (& now o3) is not “hype.” We know o1 can actually do some very hard tasks (see my post) & o3 appears to represent a big further leap.
They aren’t AGI, but will matter. www.oneusefulthing.org/p/what-just-...
They aren’t AGI, but will matter. www.oneusefulthing.org/p/what-just-...
Reposted by Brian Madden
AI Snake Oil is out today! The book has been five years in the making. The first chapter is online. It is 30 pages long and summarizes the book’s main arguments. We're grateful for all the early interest and support. Let us know what you think of the book! www.aisnakeoil.com/p/starting-r...
November 15, 2024 at 11:47 AM
AI Snake Oil is out today! The book has been five years in the making. The first chapter is online. It is 30 pages long and summarizes the book’s main arguments. We're grateful for all the early interest and support. Let us know what you think of the book! www.aisnakeoil.com/p/starting-r...
Reposted by Brian Madden
It's that time of year when I'm reminded of the earliest #Citrix page on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, complete with all the modern flavor that a website from 1996 can pack in, like animated snowflakes, an animated snowman, and a visitor counter: web.archive.org/web/19961221...
December 19, 2024 at 9:41 PM
It's that time of year when I'm reminded of the earliest #Citrix page on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, complete with all the modern flavor that a website from 1996 can pack in, like animated snowflakes, an animated snowman, and a visitor counter: web.archive.org/web/19961221...
Reposted by Brian Madden
If you read nothing else about AI this week, read this - absolutely fascinating, ties together a whole bunch of recent developments in the field
Wrote my own notes here but really this piece defies summarization, you should absorb the whole thing simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/19/...
Wrote my own notes here but really this piece defies summarization, you should absorb the whole thing simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/19/...
New AI Snake Oil essay: Last month the AI industry's narrative suddenly flipped — model scaling is dead, but "inference scaling" is taking over. This has left people outside AI confused. What changed? Is AI capability progress slowing? We look at the evidence. 🧵 www.aisnakeoil.com/p/is-ai-prog...
December 19, 2024 at 6:13 PM
If you read nothing else about AI this week, read this - absolutely fascinating, ties together a whole bunch of recent developments in the field
Wrote my own notes here but really this piece defies summarization, you should absorb the whole thing simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/19/...
Wrote my own notes here but really this piece defies summarization, you should absorb the whole thing simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/19/...
My AI predictions for EUC in 2025, via the "Impact of AI: Explored" podcast with @jamesoreganeuc.bsky.social & @gkunst.bsky.social.
Listen here: www.buzzsprout.com/2317233/epis...
Or watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJLp...
Listen here: www.buzzsprout.com/2317233/epis...
Or watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJLp...
December 19, 2024 at 2:40 PM
My AI predictions for EUC in 2025, via the "Impact of AI: Explored" podcast with @jamesoreganeuc.bsky.social & @gkunst.bsky.social.
Listen here: www.buzzsprout.com/2317233/epis...
Or watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJLp...
Listen here: www.buzzsprout.com/2317233/epis...
Or watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJLp...
My thesis on the future of end user computing (EUC) + AI:
1. AI Agents will be the new knowledge workers
2. They will use Windows desktops
3. Those desktops will be remoted
4. This model will last longer than we think
I gave a talk about this in London last month:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFgf...
1. AI Agents will be the new knowledge workers
2. They will use Windows desktops
3. Those desktops will be remoted
4. This model will last longer than we think
I gave a talk about this in London last month:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFgf...
EUC Forum Winter Meeting 2024 - The Evolution and Future of End User Computing (EUC)
YouTube video by EUC Forum
www.youtube.com
December 18, 2024 at 1:40 PM
My thesis on the future of end user computing (EUC) + AI:
1. AI Agents will be the new knowledge workers
2. They will use Windows desktops
3. Those desktops will be remoted
4. This model will last longer than we think
I gave a talk about this in London last month:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFgf...
1. AI Agents will be the new knowledge workers
2. They will use Windows desktops
3. Those desktops will be remoted
4. This model will last longer than we think
I gave a talk about this in London last month:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFgf...
I will be giving "Part 2" of this talk tomorrow at the EUC Forum's winter meeting in London. I'll dig deeper into how AI agents will impact EUC and the workplace, and why I believe remotely-delivered Windows desktops will emerge as the enabling infrastructure for this revolution. 🔥🚀🍻
My Oct 2024 keynote from EUC World: Independence, where I reminisced about the old days of EUC and how we got to where we are today, and shared my vision for the future of EUC. Hint: The AI agents will need anywhere, anytime, always-on access to Windows. 🤔
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkuo...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkuo...
EUC World Keynote
YouTube video by Dr. Alex
www.youtube.com
November 25, 2024 at 10:49 AM
I will be giving "Part 2" of this talk tomorrow at the EUC Forum's winter meeting in London. I'll dig deeper into how AI agents will impact EUC and the workplace, and why I believe remotely-delivered Windows desktops will emerge as the enabling infrastructure for this revolution. 🔥🚀🍻
Reposted by Brian Madden
The End User Computing (EUC) community once started with the ThinList, then we moved to Twitter. It was time to move again, so we packed our bags and landed on BlueSky, if you want to find the community, here is a starter pack for you. go.bsky.app/TcjBoLJ
November 25, 2024 at 8:14 AM
The End User Computing (EUC) community once started with the ThinList, then we moved to Twitter. It was time to move again, so we packed our bags and landed on BlueSky, if you want to find the community, here is a starter pack for you. go.bsky.app/TcjBoLJ
Reposted by Brian Madden
My Oct 2024 keynote from EUC World: Independence, where I reminisced about the old days of EUC and how we got to where we are today, and shared my vision for the future of EUC. Hint: The AI agents will need anywhere, anytime, always-on access to Windows. 🤔
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkuo...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkuo...
EUC World Keynote
YouTube video by Dr. Alex
www.youtube.com
November 21, 2024 at 2:56 PM
My Oct 2024 keynote from EUC World: Independence, where I reminisced about the old days of EUC and how we got to where we are today, and shared my vision for the future of EUC. Hint: The AI agents will need anywhere, anytime, always-on access to Windows. 🤔
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkuo...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkuo...
Turns out I was wrong about security concerns of the upcoming Microsoft Recall AI screen recording feature being overblown. Great writeup from Kevin Beaumont: doublepulsar.com/recall-steal...
Recall: Stealing everything you’ve ever typed or viewed on your own Windows PC is now possible.
Photographic memory comes to Windows, and is the biggest security setback in a decade.
doublepulsar.com
June 3, 2024 at 11:53 AM
Turns out I was wrong about security concerns of the upcoming Microsoft Recall AI screen recording feature being overblown. Great writeup from Kevin Beaumont: doublepulsar.com/recall-steal...
My detailed analysis of the newly-announced Microsoft Windows "Recall" feature. BLUF: All the things I love about it as an individual are the things that terrify me about it as an employee. Not that this matters, as companies will adopt anyway. 🤷♂️
www.linkedin.com/pulse/micros...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/micros...
Microsoft Recall: An analysis of the issues & prediction of the evolution of the AI workplace
People are nervous about the upcoming Microsoft Windows “Recall” feature. For now, it stays local to your computer, and security fears are overblown.
www.linkedin.com
May 29, 2024 at 1:55 PM
My detailed analysis of the newly-announced Microsoft Windows "Recall" feature. BLUF: All the things I love about it as an individual are the things that terrify me about it as an employee. Not that this matters, as companies will adopt anyway. 🤷♂️
www.linkedin.com/pulse/micros...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/micros...