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Essays
Since 2018, I have actively been thinking and writing about how emerging technologies impact us. These non-academic essays aim to provide a critical perspective on tech innovations. Topics I cover are AI, cybersecurity and human psychology.


The idiosyncrasies Jason Arday's tragic case surfaced
I originally posted the below as an article on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/taking-credit-someone-elses-creations-academics-vs-ai-zheng-phd-djj6e/ The recent death of Cambridge University's youngest black academic, Jason Arday, is unquestionably tragic. I felt confused, however, what to believe. Frankly, I was not aware of Arday's case until UCL's provost formally acknowledged support last week for colleagues who were affected by the situation. I had not been exp
Aug 293 min read


Six ways people sabotage themselves before they do anything
Through the vastly different types of clients I coached, I discovered six common patterns through which people sabotage their own lives. These typically are the subconscious thoughts people have that make them feel stuck. This was a very deep insight into unhelpful thought patterns that many of us get trapped by. I detail them below, along with the underlying beliefs that maintain the respective pattern and how these beliefs manifest in what people do (i.e., the “symptoms”):
Dec 12, 20253 min read


The surprising link between personal coaching and public safety
My coaching practice aims to make self-actualisation a lifestyle. After spending years on researching people’s online security and trying to find better ways to protect them from cyber-attacks, I realised that the typical approach to cybersecurity awareness and training programs is not that effective. As I got interested in life coaching, it suddenly clicked for me that we need to improve people’s psychological skills and wellbeing to create safer and more secure organisation
Dec 12, 20252 min read


Personal coaching vs. psychotherapy
What is understood by the term “coaching” has evolved over the course of humanity. Traces of its altruistic objective can be found in ancient human cultures, where those more skilled and knowledgeable coached those less experienced to reach a deeper level of understanding. For example, in sports and mechanical engineering, but also philosophy and religion. The personal or life coaching profession as we now it today, however, only started to materialise from the ‘80s thanks to
Dec 11, 20256 min read


My top 3 books of 2024
This year, I made time to read more. Even though my commute on the tube is only about 15 minutes, that half an hour a day proved to be just enough for me to start and finish work feeling intrigued. I read multiple books and a bunch of academic papers this way. Some of these were absolutely captivating and broadened my worldview. From rekindling my longstanding interest in understanding consciousness, to opening my eyes to the silent neoliberal powers that are shaping our worl
Dec 20, 20244 min read
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