OPINION
Tees
Talk
Artificial intelligence( AI) is no longer a future concept – it’ s here, embedded in daily operations across Teesside businesses of every size. But beyond the hype, what’ s the real impact?
We asked local business and education leaders a simple, direct question: is AI genuinely saving you time, money, both or neither in your organisation?
CHARLIE NETTLE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, AV DAWSON AI is definitely saving us time and money! We’ re using it in various ways, such as summarising large documents, recording minutes and actions from meetings and for content writing.
For content writing, we use it for internal briefings, press releases, articles and website content – even just to create a skeleton framework to get people started. Every time I go on social media, I’ m served up ads that remind me I’ m using AI exactly how an over-40 would use it, but we’ re building on this and now starting to look at how we incorporate AI into our operations more.
DAVID HUGHES, ASSOCIATE DEAN, TEESSIDE UNIVERSITY Artificial intelligence is already saving us time but, more importantly, it is changing how we use that time. We use AI to support routine administration, coding and data analysis, which frees our teams to focus on what matters most – students, wellbeing and real-world impact.
Our Future Facing Learning approach positions generative AI as a support tool, not a substitute. Students use it to test and shape ideas while learning to validate sources, challenge bias and use it responsibly.
For businesses, AI can improve efficiency and insight, but only when introduced with clear purpose and strong governance. That’ s why research and partnerships must be focused on helping organisations adopt responsibly, managing risk while unlocking genuine value through digital transformation.
KIRSTY MACKENZIE, HEAD, TEESSIDE HIGH SCHOOL AI is proving to be a valuable tool in certain areas of our organisation, particularly saving time on tasks such as creating timetables, interpreting and describing exam data and general administrative work.
However, while AI is useful to a point, it cannot replicate the exceptionally high standard of personalisation that defines our approach here at Teesside High. Report writing, marking, creating tailored resources and providing in-depth feedback rely on profound professional expertise and a deep understanding of each individual student, which is something AI simply cannot replace.
14 | Tees Business