Hello everyone!

I’m here to give you a rundown of an incredible Thursday in sunny, warm Cambridge. After a morning commute from London that was suspiciously stress-free, I settled into a Lunch & Connect gathering that felt like we needed more than our scheduled 2 hours!

Our host, James (​@JHBEM) put together another fantastic gathering yesterday, setting us up for a fascinating dialogue. Speaking of which, a huge thank you to Jo Stansfield who facilitated and sparked a wonderful, introspective conversation 

AI, as you all know by now, is among the hottest topics in so many industries. HR is no different. I have to confess, I’m something of an optimist when it comes to the potential of this technology. I showed as much when I referenced its potential to eliminate repetitive, mundane tasks and help HR pros focus more on creative and/ or strategy work.

Oxana and David (​@Naturally Mindful) challenged this notion, asking about the harmful impact of so many tasks being replaced by AI. Rather than make things easier, they suggested, perhaps the push to use AI tools in an increasing number of ways is making us all too dependent on it. My own dependence on auto-correct (and the resulting decrease in my spelling capabilities) came immediately to mind!  

Maya (@HRJoy) and Lucy (​@HRHappiness) added that any approach to using AI in the workplace cannot start with the compulsion to do something because “everyone else is using it.” Any use of this technology has to be led by the “why” and “how” - why do we need this and how do we plan on using it?

The conversation was so thoughtful and energetic that we all started to go beyond AI in HR and talk about its potential wider ramifications. David went on to ask how we grapple with AI tools being used to eliminate the jobs of so many content writers. An excellent question as content writing is getting hammered in an already difficult employment market. 

Our one case for optimism as a group? People. Instead of looking to our employers, it’s people and their ability to make their voices heard, to organise, that will play a deciding role in shaping the future relationship between us and AI. Whether or not we actually do so remains to be seen.
 

Afterwards, we all took a short, sun-soaked stroll to the nearby Disrupt HR summit, where presenters were given a challenge: give a presentation on a topic that you’re passionate about relating to the world of work...in 5 minutes...with 20 slides...and speaking for 15 seconds per slide.

It’s a daunting challenge, to say the least. But, guess what? Two of our very own community members, Majid (@Majid) and Hannah (@HannahPorteous-Butler) were among several others who participated in this challenge and, unsurprisingly, blew us all away! In a crowded room, Hannah and Majid put on masterclasses of clear, captivating, and memorable presentations - both of which were met with booming applause. It was such a pleasure to see them do their thing!
 

It was a great day of community-centric fun and learning. Here’s to many, many more!

-Moe