Cutting through the AI and Cyber hype

Lancashire is increasingly at the centre of an AI and cyber conversation that continues to rise in volume as digital technology advances at pace.

With the emergence of the National Cyber Force HQ, strong higher and further education institutions and a growing number of businesses deploying AI, the county is well placed to play a leading role in the UK’s digital future.

However, businesses face a clear challenge.

AI adoption is accelerating while cyber risks are evolving just as quickly.

Organisations are making decisions about automation, data and digital transformation now – often without clear benchmarks, shared learning or trusted peer insight.

That was the background to the first Lancashire AI and Cybersecurity Summit, staged by Lancashire Business View.

Our event, held at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel and Spa at Clayton-le-Moors, brought together experts in AI and cyber security and business leaders to explore how organisations are responding to all these challenges in practice.

The aim was simple – to move the conversation from ‘ambition to delivery’. The invited audience heard real examples of how and why businesses are using AI, along with valuable insights into emerging cyber risks and governance challenges.

Kicking off the event, Marcello Trovati, Professor of Digital Transformation at the University of Lancashire’s School of Business, told delegates: “AI is such a big term and there are different issues related to it. We may think of it as a silver bullet but it isn’t.”

He added: “AI provides certain tools that are really useful but they need to be targeted. If you don’t know the problem you want to solve in detail, it is difficult to find the answer.”

The professor stressed that data was the key to success and urged businesses beginning their AI journey to start by looking at what data they held and what kind of information they could extract from it.

He said: “Before a business starts using AI, they should look at how data is saved, what kind of data is being used and ask if they need to be careful about sharing it with specific tools.

“The second point is to be very selective. Do you need something that is specific or something more basic? Some of the tools are free and can be developed with the help of experts.

“Talk to the experts. It is about trying to understand what you really need and cutting through all the noise and the hype.

“The biggest mistake businesses make is spending lots of money on different AI tools that are too generic. There are a lot of ways to address this question in a very cost-effective way that is more targeted.”