Five Questions with Marc Ambasna-Jones

Tell us more about DEEP BRIEF and what inspired you to start it

DEEP BRIEF grew out of a frustration, really. There’s a huge amount of smart work happening in deep tech. In areas such as quantum, AI infrastructure, advanced materials, future networks and robotics, we are seeing some unbelievable innovation. It’s cutting-edge stuff. But so much of the coverage is scattered across a wide number of publications. It’s piecemeal and takes a while to catch up on everything, so the idea was to curate the most interesting pieces into one place. I initially was doing it just for myself, but then I thought that maybe others might find it useful too.

With 25 years in tech journalism, you've witnessed several waves of technological change. How has the role of the tech journalist evolved, and what’s the biggest challenge today?

When I started in tech magazines, the methods were different. Column inches in galleys, spray mounted photos on page layouts cut by scalpel. But the principles were the same: explaining new tech and trends in laypersons’ terms. Trying to make it readable, interesting and relevant. The biggest challenge today is GenAI, or rather, how people are using it. I am seeing a lot of blandness. Thought leadership without any original thought. It’s boring. Maybe we all need to look at the media and ask ourselves what is its true purpose and whether we want to keep it? There is a short-termism about how GenAI is being used. Maybe it’s helping to cut costs, but at what cost?

You’ve written extensively on agentic AI and quantum computing, areas often seen as overhyped or misunderstood. What drew you to them, and how do you separate hype from reality?

I was at a conference in Prague last year speaking to a few tech directors and CIOs during a coffee break and they were all laughing about how the conference was so focused on AI. None of them at that time had any plans to look at it. They said they didn’t understand it and how it would really help.

There is often this disconnect between corporate need and customer reality. Tech hype and usefulness. This is always the attraction of looking at new tech. There is an inital 'wow' moment, but then you start asking why, what’s the point? Quantum, agentic AI, brain chips, 6G and more all fit into this. Great inventions, but there has to be a purpose.

What key trends or industry shifts will you be watching most closely in 2026?

Defence and medtech investment is going to be a big influence this year. This will no doubt drive the direction of innovation. The UK Government has already laid out its plans for so much of this and there are some interesting clusters emerging. There are some other, related trends to watch too: how AI will or won’t accelerate innovation,  advanced networks and security, sovereignty, energy etc. So many influencing factors to keep an eye on.

What advice would you give tech comms professionals looking to engage freelance journalists?

Do a little homework first. Read the journalist’s work and understand what they tend to write about. It also helps to lead with something concrete. A real development, an insight, a person doing interesting work or has strong opinions. I’d rather that than a polished, release-driven pitch. Freelancers work slightly differently from staff writers. Many of us are always looking for ideas and angles we can develop and pitch. That experience is surely worth something.