FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Direct answers, the way I'd give them in person.

Who is Mike Onslow?

Mike Onslow is the Chief Technology Officer of Clarity Voice, a communications company serving multi-location businesses, where he leads the engineering team that built an AI-powered conversation intelligence layer on a twenty-year VoIP platform. He is also an AI advisor for non-technical business leaders, a charter member of the vCon Foundation, a co-organizer of Detroit TechWatch, a conference speaker, and the author of the AI Bytes newsletter. He is based in Detroit, Michigan.

What does Mike Onslow speak about?

Mike speaks about vCons and conversation data, building production AI with small teams, AI-assisted development (from vibe coding to production value), company-wide AI adoption, and empathy in distributed engineering practices like code review. His talks are storytelling-driven and anchored in systems he actually shipped, not theory.

What is a vCon?

A vCon (virtualized conversation) is an open standard container for conversation data: the audio, transcript, participants, metadata, and analysis of a call, chat, or meeting in one portable file. Think of it as the PDF for conversations. Mike is a charter member of the vCon Foundation and speaks regularly on the vCon conference circuit.

What is Detroit TechWatch?

Detroit TechWatch is a community of Detroit-area engineers, founders, and builders who meet to share what they are working on. Mike Onslow is a co-organizer. If you are building technology in southeast Michigan, you are welcome at the next event.

How does Mike's AI advisory work?

The advisory follows a three-step ladder: Spark (a working session with your leadership team that finds the highest-value AI use case and proves it live), Install (standing up the tooling, training, and operating practice with your team on the keyboard), and Embed (ongoing advisory that builds internal champions until the practice runs without him). It is designed for non-technical business leaders.

Does Mike build AI systems for clients?

No, and that is the point. Mike's positioning is teach to fish, not fish for them: he guides your existing team to build production AI systems themselves, so the capability stays in your company and compounds after the engagement ends. He will lead you to water and show you how to fish, but your people have to fish to fill the buckets.

How do I book Mike Onslow to speak?

Use the contact form on this site and choose the speaking topic. Include your event, date, audience, and format (keynote, panel, workshop, or podcast). Mike speaks at conferences, executive offsites, meetups, and on podcasts.

Where can I read or watch Mike's work?

Mike writes the AI Bytes newsletter (subscribe on this site), publishes essays on Medium at @mike_onslow, and posts video on YouTube. The archive of his former podcast, Artificial Antics, is also on YouTube.