Sarah, a Capability Business Partner at Palmerston North City Council (PNCC), shared a dynamic and thought-provoking presentation on artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on business, society, and daily life. Although she doesn’t come from a technical background, Sarah was tasked with helping develop PNCC’s AI strategy. This journey opened her eyes to the transformative potential and the complex risks of this rapidly evolving technology.
Sarah began by painting a picture of New Zealand’s future: by 2040, the number of people over 65 will double, while the working-age population shrinks. With fewer people to do more work, AI becomes not just useful, but essential. She defined AI as machines' simulation of human intelligence, focusing particularly on generative AI, the branch that produces new content—text, images, or code—based on patterns learned from vast datasets.
Sarah captivated the room by walking us through how generative AI tools can streamline the process of starting a business
Using a helpful analogy, Sarah explained how AI “learns” through forward and backward propagation, likening it to throwing a ball into a basket blindfolded, learning from each attempt. This process underpins technologies like ChatGPT (by OpenAI), Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot, which use large language models (LLMs) to generate human-like text and assist with tasks from writing reports to summarising legal documents.
Sarah didn’t shy away from discussing risks. AI systems can reflect biases in their training data, leading to skewed or unfair outcomes, for instance, preferring one gender over another in job applications. Other dangers include over-reliance on AI, privacy breaches, misinformation, and even unhealthy human-machine relationships, as seen in an extreme case where a UK man became emotionally attached to a chatbot before attempting a violent act.
To counter these risks, Sarah offered three key principles:
1. Knowledge – understanding how AI works and how it’s influencing us, especially via social media algorithms.
2. Open Communication – transparency builds trust in AI use.
3. Critical Thinking – always verify outputs, and use AI as a tool, not a decision-maker.
She used the microwave as an analogy—amazing technology but unsuitable for everything. Similarly, AI needs thoughtful, deliberate use guided by human oversight.
Sarah highlighted the benefits, too. For instance, Paro the robot seal is used in aged care to ease loneliness and improve well-being. In the legal sector, AI can democratise access to justice by lowering costs. She stressed that AI isn’t just for developers—everyone, from frontline workers to policymakers, can benefit if properly supported.
She wrapped up with findings from a pilot program at PNCC, where hands-on AI workshops boosted staff confidence, productivity, and well-being. Participants felt up to 103% more confident in explaining AI to others, and 90% planned to continue exploring AI tools.
To finish, Sarah encouraged playful experimentation—treat AI as something to explore and learn from. Whether using DALL·E for image creation, Speechify for audio narration, or Otter.ai for meeting transcriptions, she emphasised that learning by doing is the best way forward.
Using AI to Start a Business – Sarah’s Live Demonstration
Sarah captivated the room by showing us how generative AI tools can streamline the process of starting a business—from idea to launch. Using ChatGPT, she showed how AI can instantly generate a structured to-do list, breaking complex tasks (like registering a company or setting up a website) into clear, manageable steps tailored to the user’s confidence level.
Next, she demonstrated how AI could help name the company, offering creative options like “Heart to Paw” for a hypothetical pet-focused business. With tools like DALL·E and Midjourney, she generated logos based on that name. AI also produced a draft marketing strategy, which she refined using Canvas mode, allowing section-by-section edits and style adjustments.
Sarah then used tools like Napkin AI to visualise the strategy and Suno to compose a custom jingle in a chosen music genre. Presentation platforms like Gamma helped turn strategies into slideshows, while 11 Labs and HeyGen offered voice and avatar generation for multilingual communication.
She wrapped up with NotebookLM, an AI that summarises documents and turns them into interactive podcasts — ideal for processing dense information. Sarah’s demo showed that AI isn’t just for experts; it’s a hands-on co-pilot for creativity and productivity.
Thanks, Sarah, for an interesting, well-presented and informative presentation.
Also, thanks to Chatgpt for your invaluable help in summarising Sarah’s presentation – Ed:JohnM