‘It’s about bridging that gap’

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This article was published 01/03/2024 (751 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Michelle Kuly isn’t completely changing her business through artificial intelligence — but the shift has been so drastic, she might start a new company.

She hinted at a launch during a Monday panel discussion for Tech Manitoba’s MbTech Week, where experts shared their AI use.

Kuly is the founder of Blueprint Inc., a consulting firm specializing in strategic planning for businesses.

The company’s new product will provide “frankly, better solutions than we’ve been able to offer our clients,” Kuly told the crowd, adding it will solve “hard problems we couldn’t afford to solve with clients before.”

Her vice-president of community and client relationships, Melissa Chung-Mowat, elaborated during an interview Thursday.

“What we’re interested in is ethical, non-scary AI use,” Chung-Mowat said.

It means creating an AI-driven tool for non-profits to better track their progress as they work toward goals set in their strategic plans, among other things.

“It’s here, it’s everywhere,” Chung-Mowat said of AI. “We really believe that… ethical… AI can serve a purpose and really be a strong tool for organizations that might not be using it.

“It’s about bridging that gap.”

The company has grown from a solopreneur venture to a quintet over the past year, to focus on its artificial intelligence project.

Developers are finishing the product, which could analyze non-profits’ data and compare it to pre-set targets. Blueprint will begin a pilot project later this year, testing the device with a handful of organizations.

This could improve working conditions at non-profits, said Chung-Mowat, who previously worked in the sector.

“People are really passionate about the work that they’re doing, (but) they can get really bogged down in things like gathering data,” she stated.

Often, organizations aren’t evaluating whether they’ve reached their goals until the strategic plan’s end is looming, she added.

Blueprint Inc. hopes to scale. First, it must complete its three- to four-month pilot project, and a subsequent pilot project with updates to the product.

Details about the product — and whether it will become its own business — are still being worked out, Chung-Mowat relayed.

“We don’t know how AI exactly is going to look in the workplace a year from now,” she added. “What we do know is that it’s going to be really important to be adaptable, to not be rigid.”

Data protection is a big focus for Blueprint, Chung-Mowat added.

David Gerhard, the University of Manitoba’s computer science department head, expects AI to bring “on the whole, net benefits.”

“This will radically alter the way we do work, radically alter the way we interact with each other,” he said during Monday’s panel.

Gerhard uses AI for composition tasks, like writing emails, and for brainstorming ideas. AI could help determine the distance between school evaluation tactics and students’ learning, he added.

Still, he’s not comfortable sharing too much personal information and wants more assurance companies behind AI are handling data “appropriately.”

Tech Manitoba’s panel wasn’t fully on board with AI.

“I haven’t had so much existential horror and hope at the same time,” said Ghazanfar Abidi, one panelist.

The director of business intelligence for Exchange Technology Services cited AI as a reason for increased productivity within his team. He tries to “poke holes” in it; he also uses it for writing.

Deborah Campbell, a principal consultant at Online Business Systems, had attended a webinar and learned to create human personas using AI. The technology, acting as characters, then described to her what communication styles worked for them.

“That’s a really great application for leadership,” Campbell stated, adding it can help decision makers better understand stakeholders and workers.

MbTech Week ends Saturday with a Bill Nye the Science Guy show at the Centennial Concert Hall. Tech Manitoba held upwards of 20 events, beginning Feb. 26.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com