Five years ago, our team sketched out plans for an AI-powered conversational research platform. The vision was clear, but the technology wasn’t there yet. We waited, watched, and when ChatGPT’s early versions emerged, we knew it was time. Today, Engage is transforming how research gets done.
This experience taught me something crucial: the future doesn’t arrive all at once. It comes in waves—first as possibility, then as capability, finally as necessity. By the time something feels necessary, the opportunity to lead has passed.
Why This Blog Exists
My Slack motto is “Dream the future and make it happen.” But there’s wisdom in the saying “A dream without a plan is just a wish.” This blog explores the journey from vision to reality—a journey that none of us makes alone.
The Pattern of Change
The biblical story of Joseph offers a framework for how transformative ideas take hold:
1. The Troubling Dream
Sometimes we sense what’s coming before we can articulate it. These early signals—a research paper here, a failed startup there, a conversation that sticks with you—form patterns only visible to those paying attention.
It’s a lonely experience. When you first see it, others don’t. They can’t. Not because they’re wrong, but because the pattern isn’t clear enough yet. Every visionary knows this isolation—the gap between what you see coming and what others are ready to hear. Our Engage platform lived in this gap for five years. “Interesting idea,” people would say, which really meant “I don’t see it.”
In CloudResearch’s position at the intersection of technology and human behavior, we see unusual patterns forming. This blog shares those observations, however preliminary. Some will resonate immediately. Others might seem far-fetched. That’s the nature of early vision—it always sounds impossible until suddenly it’s inevitable.
2. Seeking Interpretation Together
Here’s where it gets interesting. Pharaoh didn’t understand his dream alone—he needed Joseph. Similarly, no single perspective can fully grasp what’s emerging. When I share what I’m seeing, I’m really asking: “What do you make of this?” Your industry experience, regional perspective, or domain expertise might reveal what I’m missing. The comment threads often matter more than the original post.
3. Recognizing the Repetition
When multiple signals converge—when the same theme appears in different contexts—urgency builds. We’re seeing this now with AI (already here), quantum computing (closer than most think), and fusion energy (finally showing real progress). The discussion becomes: “How fast is this moving? What’s the real timeline?”
4. Building What’s Needed
Once we collectively recognize what’s coming, we need builders. This is when CloudResearch and organizations like ours must act—creating infrastructure, tools, and solutions for the world that’s emerging.
What We’re Tracking
Instead of “what’s coming,” let’s talk about what’s already in motion:
AI’s Second Wave: We’re past the ChatGPT shock. What’s brewing now in research labs will make current AI look primitive. How do we prepare?
Quantum’s Quiet Revolution: While everyone debates AI, quantum computing is hitting milestone after milestone. The implications are staggering.
Energy Abundance: Fusion reactors are achieving net energy gain. What happens when energy scarcity—a fundamental assumption of geopolitics—goes away?
These aren’t predictions—they’re observations of changes already underway.
A Different Kind of Leadership Blog
This isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about asking better questions and building a community of people who see around corners.
For CloudResearch team members: Understanding these patterns helps us build the right things at the right time.
For our industry colleagues: Let’s pool our observations. What patterns are you seeing?
For anyone thinking about tomorrow: Join the conversation. Your perspective might be the missing piece.
How This Works
Every other week, I’ll share observations and questions. But the real value emerges in the discussion. Challenge my assumptions. Share contradicting evidence. Add your own signals. Some of the best insights from this blog have come from readers who said, “Have you considered…?”
A Note on Timing
We live in exponential times. The gap between “impossible” and “inevitable” keeps shrinking. Something that seems a decade away might arrive in two years. Something expected next year might take a decade. The only way to navigate this uncertainty is together—more eyes, more perspectives, more pattern recognition.
Welcome to the conversation. Let’s figure out what’s really happening out there.
Jonathan Robinson Co-CEO & CTO, CloudResearch
Next post: “The AI Revolution’s Second Act: What the Labs Aren’t Telling You”