John Carney
Hi, I’m John, I’m a consultant helping deliver value from data, especially AI and ML.
I’ve worked across Data Engineering, Machine Learning Engineering, Data Science, AI engineering, from startups to corporate giants. From greenfield projects to mature business processes. I specialise in delivering value from data projects, having delivered 10s of millions of pounds in value across various projects.
From Manchester in the UK, I co-founded PyDataMCR in 2018, and along with the team I've been running it ever since. In 2023 I took on the role of conference co-chair of PyData London for the 2024 conference, and I'm still doing that. In the summer of 2025 I helped create, and became chair of the PyData Strategic Committee
I got my PhD in genetics in 2016, on “Adapting UK Winter Wheat to predicted climate change scenarios”. It was during this research project that I was introduced both to programming and the PyData stack.
Session
For the first time in computing history the paradigm of designing applications is following a probabilistic approach rather than a deterministic approach. Large language models have generated huge amounts of excitement, with investors, management, and engineers who are using them in product development. However both according to peer reviewed studies, and anecdotal observations, it has proven difficult to translate this optimism into business value.