As artificial intelligence programs become more prevalent in workplaces across the U.S., some small businesses are beginning to implement AI-related practices into their daily operations.
Sensing this shift, BizAccessHub, a small business consulting center at Northern Kentucky University, wanted to provide an opportunity to educate Northern Kentucky's business community on how they can leverage AI to their advantage.
BizAccessHub hosted an AI Boot Camp for Small Businesses on Thursday at NKU's Griffin Hall where participants learned how to practically apply AI to their businesses. The boot camp featured notables such as Kendra Ramirez, CEO of KR Digital Agency, and Jennifer Panepinto, owner of Painted Bread Marketing, as well as eight coaches from multiple area employers.
The conference featured keynote addresses, practical demonstrations, breakout sessions and networking opportunities.
During the conference, Dawn Parks, director of BizAccessHub, touted the benefits of integrating artificial intelligence, such as saving employees time. Specifically, she noted that artificial intelligence can automate menial tasks, allowing employees to focus on more complex, urgent tasks.
“Wouldn't it be great if we had more time,” Parks says. “We could work on new product development, how to scale, how to make sure we're moving in the right direction. We could do different things with our employees, add new conversations. There's so much more we could do if we had more time.”
Some of the ways artificial intelligence can immediately help businesses are by improving and speeding up many administrative tasks in the office, such as onboarding, training, and creating development plans and job descriptions.
Ramirez reminded attendees not to worry about AI taking over their jobs, but rather to get used to using it to increase overall productivity. Discussions about AI can slip into hyperbolic and sometimes apocalyptic rhetoric.
“One of the things I preach everywhere I go is to embrace AI. AI isn't going to take your job, AI is coming to your job,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez laid out a roadmap for attendees interested in implementing AI into their business processes: The first step is to identify the right tools for your business, then identify the tools and use cases, then research the “pros and cons” of AI and determine what is ethical when it comes to your business industry.
Another key piece of advice Ramirez shared is to review your current software stack to see if some of your programs already have AI capabilities before deciding to use or purchase other tools, so companies can eliminate potential duplication.
“We don't need another tool in our lives. It's too overwhelming, but we want efficiency,” Ramirez said.
In the local education sector, NKU has publicly committed to adding more AI-related courses by offering a new interdisciplinary minor in Applied Artificial Intelligence, with classes beginning this fall.
“This is not just about artificial intelligence, it's about automation — how do you automate simple tasks that take time, or how do you challenge yourself to use AI to answer complex questions,” said Abdullah Al Bahrani, NKU's vice dean.
