Those who raised their hands suggested that there is still a way to go in integrating AI into the business world.
But after most attendees at the latest Tees Business LIVE event said they needed to learn more about AI, a panel of experts offered valuable advice on how to step up your AI game.
More than 100 attendees attended the latest Tees Business LIVE event held at Boro’s Riverside Stadium. Tease business We are partnering with Ryze Agency, a leading digital and brand specialist based in Stockton.
Click to see a gallery of images from the event. here.
To discuss the topic of AI in business, we assembled a panel of four experts: Tom Roberton, Circle Cloud MD, Peter Wilcock, VP of Sales and Marketing at AI data center company Latos, Lewis Cobb, Head of Modular Data Center Projects at Durata, and David Smith, Founder and CEO of Ryze.
And all four were happy to reveal how they use AI and recommend smarter ways to use it for Tees companies as well.
An initial show of hands revealed that around three-quarters of participants actively use AI in their daily work, but nearly 100% said they wanted to know more.
And David felt that “obvious” AI tools like Chat GPT should not be underestimated.
he said: “What this helps with is getting an idea or something off the ground, instead of starting from a completely upright position.
“It speeds up the thought process and then helps you refine it, prove it, check its quality, rather than relying on someone else or relying on yourself.
“We use this in some of our more relief efforts. Previously, we would manually composite the background into the image, because we would have to make it bigger or it would have to extend beyond what was actually captured. But AI is coming in and can speed up that process.
“But people need to be transparent about how they use it and what they do with it.
“There’s no point in pretending that we’re not using AI for something. After all, we’re using AI to speed things up, not to devalue what we do.
“It actually increases your value because you can spend more time on things that are more valuable.”
Tom Roberton said that at Circle Cloud, which prides itself on quickly resolving cybersecurity issues for its customers, AI helps recommend and match the best team members for specific tasks.
He urged companies to learn more about AI themselves, saying: “Understand the different types of AI that are out there.
“People can be intimidated by it, thinking they have to learn technically how it works, but you don’t have to.
“Investigate and understand the different types of AI available and what they do, not how they do it.
“You know your business better than anyone, and you start to see opportunities, because at the moment everyone thinks of AI as just language models and chat GPT, but there’s vision, there’s document processing, there’s a lot of things you can do with AI.
“When you look at what’s available, you think, ‘Oh, I could use this,’ and you find an opportunity.”
Peter Wilcock of Latos said AI could help inform investment decisions.
“The problem with my business is that I talk about it like it’s my own child. Unfortunately, no one cares about my child, so I have to talk about other people’s children. I think that’s very helpful for that.”
“Otherwise, you have to go find a world-class hedge fund manager in New York.”
And Durata’s Lewis Cobb pointed out that even if you think you’re not currently using AI, you probably are.
“If you’re using Google Maps, Spotify, YouTube, etc., you might use the term ‘algorithm,’ but that’s AI. It’s something that cross-references what you like against what already exists.
“I use it to improve my performance. I forget things all the time, so having a co-pilot basically tells me what I have to do that day, how I have to do things and in what order. It also tells me what I don’t miss, to fill in the gaps when I’m writing a report or proposal for a client. That’s where I use it.”
“It’s going to be a companion, so that’s how you need to look at it.”
Tees Business LIVE events are delivered in conjunction with series partner Northeast Chamber of Commerce.
To inquire about sponsorship opportunities in 2026, please email us. info@teesbusiness.co.uk Or call us on 01642 450255.
