On the 23^rd of May, Nash Squared premiered our latest documentary in the ‘Tech Flix’ series at the National Robotarium, just outside Edinburgh. This third edition was titled, ‘AI and Robotics: A Near Future You’re Not Prepared For’ and explored the issues facing digital leaders looking to adopt automation with analysis from across the sector.

Whilst the film itself will be released later in the summer after further screenings in New York and London, a local panel of experts added a huge amount of context and detail following the credits. 

Joining Cameron Macgrain (Harvey Nash Regional Director) on the panel were Gary Crawford (Waracle), Kjersti Ferguson (Scottish Government), Samantha Rhynas (Effini), Graham Hosking (Quorum Cyber) and Angus Allan (xDesign).

So, what were the key discussion points in the room when the credits started to roll?

Unsurprisingly one of the key themes was the need to maintain the human element in decision-making. Angus Allan was at pains to stress the point. In fact, human qualities appear to be hugely important when dealing with AI. 

We know that AI is prone to hallucinating and therefore spreading misinformation. When we encounter another person doing that, we spot it and we are sceptical, but we fail to look at the results we are getting from GenAI tools in anything more than binary: yes or no, or right and wrong. 

Kjersti also made the point that we spend rather too much time worrying about AI’s impact on humans and society, and not enough on how we actually want to use it.

It all begs the question, what are the biggest questions you have concerning the adoption of AI in business, and do you feel prepared?

About the author:

David Savage is the Group Technology Evangelist for our parent company, Nash Squared. He has a deep understanding of the technology and talent markets and spends his time crafting podcasts, hosting video debates, speaking, moderating conferences, and chairing keynote stages. 

Since 2017, he has been the editor and host of Tech Talks, a show about leadership and technology currently ranked as one of the most popular podcasts in the world.