Former ship’s officer, now CTPO · Valencia
I’m Ismail Aksoy, Chief Technology & Product Officer at MTR. I started on the bridge, then spent the next decade building maritime training and fleet software. Here I write about systems that must work offline, AI that must be right, and leading the teams that build both.
Writing
AI makes it easy to create reports, code, and strategies. But an output is not necessarily a correct result. Like children shaping clay without mastering the craft, organizations need context, trusted data, metrics, and human judgment to turn AI output into real value.
Generative tools compress course production from weeks to hours. But that relocates risk rather than removing it: an AI-generated course is fluent and visually complete by default, and that polish masks the errors it may contain. Surface polish is no longer evidence of substantive correctness.
Standard cloud synchronization fails over high-latency maritime VSAT. This blueprint details an asynchronous, bidirectional data pipeline using a Rust daemon, HTTP/3, and PostgreSQL CDC to maintain deterministic relational consistency across offline fleets without heavy message brokers.
Moving from concept to code, this study details a hybrid RAG system built on GCP and Rust. By merging vector search with temporal knowledge graphs, we’ve created an auditable AI tool that navigates complex IMO regulations with precision and safety.
Most fleets still rely on fragmented records and subjective judgment to decide if officers are ready for promotion. This project presents a structured, data-driven competency management system that turns scattered evidence into transparent, defensible promotion and development decisions.
From Enron's stated values of 'Integrity' to OpenAI's dissolved safety team, corporate values consistently fail. This investigation reveals the cynicism factory: how values-based leadership became performative ethics, why Europe has the lowest engagement despite Nordic origins, and what comes next.
Topics
One email when something new is published, usually twice a month. Architecture write-ups, leadership notes and what I learn building maritime software. Unsubscribe in one click.
