Strategies for applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to empower business growth were outlined at the latest event held in partnership with Barwell Business Park and Kingston Chamber of Commerce.
‘AI in Action – Real world applications and impact’ – supported, too, by the UK Government, Mayor of London and BIG South London – took place in the newly-refurbished corporate centre at the Safari Hotel, Chessington World of Adventures Resort, on 3 October. A networking breakfast was followed by a fireside chat with Lindsay Jessup, CEO, Geeks and London School of Innovation, as well as a presentation and workshops from Alastair Brown, Director of AI-Upskill.
Lindsay said that while AI has been around for decades, the tech is now more advanced and more widely available beyond Government and big companies, enabling SMEs to take on bigger businesses and “disrupt the big players.”
She added: ‘We [Geeks] are positioned to support SMEs. We’re specialised in how we bring these technologies and make them accessible to the businesses that are the lifeblood of our economies, the fuel of our nation.”
AI works best by identifying a problem or goal and keeping sight of that rather than using the technology in isolation, Lindsay explained. And to use the tools effectively, your “AI strategy should be integrated with your business strategy.”
Alastair spotlighted five different AI tools for attendees to experiment with while at the event. They were:
- Perplexity – enables businesses to compare their offer with competitors
- Copilot – combines seemingly unrelated ideas from one industry and another to produce unique ideas.
- Gemini – identifies alternatives to existing processes or solutions in an industry
- Claude – explores opportunities for a business
- ChatGPT – generates conjectures by imagining future scenarios or trends
Amy Crawford, Project Manager of Barwell’s marketing team, said: “This fascinating event explored AI concepts while offering practical advice, too. It was yet another insightful business event for Barwell Business Park in conjunction with Kingston Chamber of Commerce. If our occupiers would like to suggest themes for future events, we’d very much welcome your ideas.”
Email barwell@wlcreative.org.uk