UK Director Event
In November 2024, UK Director Magazines held its first three-county educational event at The Hold in Ipswich, where more than 100 people gathered to explore the theme of ‘AI: helping to run your business better?’.
This emerging technology has become a true disruptor in business today, with an impressive range of possibilities now freely available, but little in place to help us embrace it safely and efficiently. So, with it moving at pace, we wanted to provide an opportunity where local business leaders could learn more about all aspects, from the development history to the potential dangers involved.
Sharing knowledge
The day began with an initial welcome and refreshments, then we were honoured to introduce our keynote speaker for the event – Professor Dr Detlef Nauck, distinguished engineer and head of AI and data science research at BT Group. With a wealth of knowledge and expertise, his presentation was interesting and informative – and just a little scary – and it inspired some interesting questions from the audience.
Then, after a small break for tea and coffee, we held a lively Q&A session with a panel of experts (as always, held under ‘Chatham House Rules’), where attendees could ask questions directly or via a messaging portal if they wished to remain anonymous. Chaired by our editor, Sue Wilcock, we were pleased to welcome Gavin Wood from CyberLab, Chloé Vertigen from Birkett Long, Jack Johns from BT, Kevin Linsell from IJYI, and Matt Freestone from Unmatched – all of whom shared some fascinating insights into the challenges and opportunities when using AI within the workplace.
The discussion explored a variety of key areas, including the ethical implications, the legal dangers, the urgent need for ‘guardrails’ and regulation, and the exciting possibilities when AI is used to free up time for innovation.
For those who wished to delve even further into the subject, there was also an opportunity to take part in afternoon workshops where they could get ‘hands-on’ with the tech.
Takeaways
The event was hailed a huge success by those who attended, with many saying it provided some much-needed information and education around a technology that is already changing the way we work every day.
One key takeaway from the experience is that AI will augment and not replace the human element of your business; it can’t offer the unique creativity or personal connection with your clients that an employee can, and most importantly, it can’t apply common sense! As Detlef suggested, you should treat it like an apprentice – give it work to do but always check the output, at least in the beginning.
Our thanks to our partner for the event, IJYI, and our sponsors – Ensors Chartered Accountants, Lucas Fettes Financial Planning, Birkett Long, and Unmatched.
Visit our events page to see more about our event programme and to view a gallery of images.
