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AI is nothing new. It’ s something which has been around for decades and in the UK its roots are often traced back to the work done by the code breakers in World War Two at Bletchley Park. In fact three people have been named as being UK pioneers in this area and you may have heard of at least one of them – Jack Good, Donald Michie and Alan Turing.
Today this term is all over the news and most people don’ t really understand it in all of its nuances. France has recently hosted a summit and wants to become a centre of AI, our Prime Minister has said much the same about the UK. There seems to be a bunfight going on among some governments to see who can steal or grab market share.
What does all of this mean for us doing business on the frontline in Swindon and Wiltshire or even across the South West. How are we all feeling about – or using – AI in our every day lives.
The International Monetary Fund has recently predicted that 40 per cent of UK jobs will be‘ disrupted’ by AI. A recruitment company survey also said that this would affect some sectors more than others when it came to jobs and recruitment. The suggestion was that sectors such as administration, legal, architecture and engineering would see the biggest impacts while more manual labour such as construction or cleaning would be less affected.
In a recent survey conducted at a TBE business breakfast event, the jeopardy of AI became apparent with those who answered the survey thought that marketing roles would be affected negatively – yet at the same time thought that marketing was the most important task( alongside finance) within any business. How do you square that circle? Well, local companies are already doing it.
Sara Witham is the founder of Evil Empire Marketing based in Swindon. The company is five years old and has a team of four. Sara sees the huge advantage of AI and has been delivering lectures about it to young people in the town.
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“ AI offers us so much. We use it in our business for so many boring back office tasks where it’ s very useful and saves time – such as writing meeting agendas – and that’ s just one example,” Sara said.
“ We have, as a team, made the decision not to use it with our clients for their stories and content. There are companies who will do this and therefore will charge much less as the content is AI-generated. This is not what we do though we did consider offering this as a package. Each business has its own unique voice and the people within it are unique and we want to work with our clients to embrace and nurture that.”
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Similarly Graeme Leighfield and his team run Swindon-based GEL Studios are also using it to save time and to empower his team.
“ We leverage the power of AI to streamline the groundwork- freeing our team to focus on what truly matters: crafting impactful strategies. AI efficiently handles tasks like data aggregation, basic content generation, and preliminary research. This allows us to rapidly sift through vast amounts of information, identifying key trends and insights.
“ Our in-house expertise then takes centre stage. We analyse the AI-generated data, applying our deep understanding of a business and its target audience. We don’ t just present data; we interpret it, transforming raw information into actionable plans that drive tangible results.
“ By combining AI’ s efficiency with our creative ingenuity, we deliver innovative solutions that are relevant, unique and deliver repeatable ROI to our clients.”
Yet other voices are urging caution and they talk about the intention behind using AI and doing your due diligence.
Phil Cater is the cofounder of IT solutions company WestSpring IT which has its HQ in Bristol but is currently sourcing a satellite office in Wiltshire.
He said,“ You do need to understand how you’ re going to work with AI – don’ t
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just adopt it because everyone else is. It is a large investment for businesses so it’ s important to understand if it will bring an ROI and improve productivity across different departments.”
Phil said if a company’ s board decides this is right for the future of the business, the first step is to carry out a data governance exercise.
He said,“ It is crucial that sensitive company data is protected from being accessed by all employees and it’ s also important to educate your employees that AI isn’ t there to take their jobs. We don’ t recommend using AI for business-critical decisions.”
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Ant Hodges, a specialist in funnel marketing, also has strong views on AI.
“ AI isn’ t new, it’ s just become more accessible to the Average Joe. It’ s like instant coffee vs a barista flat white. Sure, it’ s quick and convenient, but something essential is lost.
“ What concerns me isn’ t the technology itself, but how we’ re using it. We’ re letting AI replace human creativity in our marketing and critical thinking in our lives. Essentially we’ re serving instant coffee to customers who want an authentic experience with our own thoughts and wisdom- a proper coffee.
“ Will AI take over? Only if we let it. The real opportunity isn’ t in automation I feel, it’ s in using AI as an assistant while doubling down on human connection, real creativity and providing a genuine experience with our brand, not a bot.”
Peter Jones, managing director of the HR Dept, said, while AI was potentially a fantastic tool for businesses, if used unchecked it could spell disaster.
He said,“ AI is not something that can be put back in the box, so one way or another it will have a relevance. Our advice is to embrace this emerging technology and recognise that it can be a useful resource.“ It’ s important to bear in mind AI – without limits – presents a number of risks,
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not least to data protection, accountability, transparency and ethical conduct. Drawing up an AI policy will help mitigate these risks.”
Common elements of any policy should include using AI tools responsibly and the risks associated with misuse as well as who within the business is allowed to use AI, and who is not.
Perhaps the last word should go to a business woman of vast experience. Christine Marsh is the 84-yearold founder of Prime Objectives, a business consultancy she set up in 1990 after a high level career in retail. Today she works with companies to help them grow and she’ s also published her first book‘ Flashpoint Transformation: Life’ s Choices Ready to Jump or Waiting to be Pushed?’. Christine is an advocate for embracing later life fully.
She said,“ My first awareness of the pending redundancy of human beings was when being shown around a business manufacturing circuit boards for computers in Northern Ireland many years ago. High-precision placing of microscopic components using robot arms. Only one section had humans doing tasks, and when I remarked how reassuring it was to see human skills were still required, I was told it was because they were cheaper as this was only a mundane task.
“ Proceed with caution. Remember AI should be an aid not a get-out option. It is too easy to become lulled into quick and easy practices and forfeit your originality.”
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THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2025 13 |