Experts stress the urgency of starting AI journey

Businesses were being urged to take their first steps into artificial intelligence at Lancashire Business View’s first AI and Cybersecurity Summit.

The event, held at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel and Spa at Clayton-le-Moors, brought together experts and business leaders to explore AI adoption and cyber risks.

Lancashire is increasingly at the centre of an AI and cyber conversation that continues to increase 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.

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.”

The professor urged businesses to start their AI journey.

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.”

Mark Edwards, Seriun’s operations director, told delegates that ‘AI is moving so fast but the efficiency gains are massive’ as he shared examples of tools analysing data sheets, document reading or writing reports.

Wayne Fulton, head of CyberSecurity at Seriun, gave a reality check about the dangers and told the audience to take action now to not fall victim to an attack.

Darren Ratcliffe from Blackburn College, talked about ‘building the next generation of the workforce who are AI‑aware, cyber‑skilled, and ready to meet what the market is looking for’.

He was part of a panel of Dan Knowles from Northern Reach, Tamima Mulla-Shah from IN4 Group Centre and Dan Gianassi, detective inspector of North West Cyber Resilience Centre discussing skills, opportunities with AI and the guardrails businesses face.

Muhammad Yahya Patel from Huntress Labs has appeared on many television channels talking about cyber security and he joined the discussion from the audience and urged businesses to plan against attacks now.

Austin Waddecar from fulfilmentcrowd, Paul Bell from the North West Aerospace Alliance, Lewis MacCallum from VARS Technology and Lisa Kennery from Pierce told the audience about AI in action in their business.

Tim Barrow, managing director from Terry Lifts, shared a real-life experience from his business being hit by a cyber-attack and the impact it has had on staff and the company.

The event was in association with Seriun, Blackburn College and the University of Lancashire.

A full report will be featured in full in the May/June edition of Lancashire Business View magazine.