Back at the office, Dan’s reflections on the talk sounded so interesting we thought it was worth sharing some of his takeaways here. Firstly, Dan thinks we cannot always assume the public needs AI; we must start by working out the public’s needs before assessing how AI can meet those needs. Tom Liptrot, founder of Ortom, a Data Science consultancy who helps startups/scaleups use machine learning in their products, shared his view on how we must approach this technology in a human-centric way.
Of course, we must take knowledge of what the technology can do into conversations around how to solve problems for real people. But what we must also be clear on, is what those problems are, and ensure that we assess all possible options, before assuming that AI is always the right answer.
Secondly, some of the biggest barriers are knowledge and fear. Take generative AI for example; there are tonnes of headlines that suggest this technology will bring about the end for many job roles. Yes, it’s an incredibly powerful tool, but as it was discussed on the day, we need to reframe our thinking around AI and its impacts and truly understand the value it can add through the time it saves in creating such content. Humans are still needed, and whilst AI can help generate ideas faster than any human, authenticity is still valued. AI is a tool that can enhance the design process, but if there were no humans involved in this process, would we really be comfortable with the output? Funnily enough, we’ve discussed this recently with one of our UX Designers and a Principal Consultant in the Research & Service Design department – you can catch up their conversation here.
Dan continued, underlining the fact that building knowledge on the power of AI and reducing fear around its impact is key- and the former will almost definitely lead to the latter. Sherin Matthew (AI Tech UK CEO) shared with us that 85% of UK businesses (ONS) are yet to adopt the technology due to knowledge barriers, and events, such as this one, are a good place to start in terms of reframing our thinking about the transformative technology.
Finally, there is an incredible community of practitioners, technologists and leaders within the North West who are driving forward the movement into an AI-assisted world.
Lisa McClory delved into the laws and regulations that are in place to ensure we are protected as this technology embeds itself into society. There are prohibited use cases (e.g. unconsented public facial recognition) that we must keep in place for our own privacy.
Michael Ekpechue, Director of Adanian Labs shared how he is on a mission to ensure minority communities are upskilled on AI, data science, cybersecurity and more. He was passionate about no person being left behind, and keen that UK and European investors are connected with opportunities in Africa and the Caribbean (and vice versa).
To summarise, Dan shared he thinks it’s easy and not unusual to feel overwhelmed or concerned about the pace at which this incredibly powerful technology is intertwining into our everyday lives. Attending these types of events, though, can be educational, but also provide peace of mind that actually, there are humans at the heart of this journey. With the right community centres of excellence and knowledge-sharing in place, we can make sure we’re moving in the right direction.
If you’d like to learn a bit more about AI and where it could fit into your organisation, drop us a note at Transformation@TransformUK.com and we’ll put you in touch with one of our experts, who’ll be able to run you through our highly successful AI Impact Assessment.