Al Chronicles - S1E03 - Alex Young

What is it like trying to introduce AI into a 90 year old organisation? In this episode of AI Chronicles, Pete Cohen chats with Alex Young, who heads Business Growth and Innovation at Lifeblood which is the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. Alex shares his journey with AI, starting with ChatGPT, and how he is fostering interest and progress within his organisation. Alex shares the journey of successful AI pilots, including a tool for summarising scientific reports and an AI-assisted interface for blood donor eligibility criteria. He emphasises balancing innovation with data security, particularly in a health organisation. Beyond work, Alex shares personal experiences using AI for creative projects, such as rapidly prototyping a card game using ChatGPT and Midjourney. The conversation touches on AI's implications for the future of work, with Alex raising questions about responsibility for implementing AI solutions that benefit employees. Where to find and connect with Alex: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mralexyoung/ The Snooze Strategist (podcast and forthcoming book) https://www.youtube.com/@thesnoozestrategists Medium: https://medium.com/@alexitabashi Tools mentioned during the conversation: ChatGPT (https://chat.openai.com/) - AI language model for conversational interactions and various tasks Microsoft Azure (https://azure.microsoft.com/) - Cloud computing platform with AI and machine learning services Amazon Web Services (AWS) (https://aws.amazon.com/) - Cloud platform offering AI and machine learning capabilities Canva (https://www.canva.com/) - Graphic design platform with AI-enhanced features for creating visual content Ship 30 for 30 (https://www.ship30for30.com/) - Online writing course for developing a daily writing habit Google's Notebook LM (https://ai.google.dev/notebooks) - Tool for interacting with Google's language models, providing document summarisation with citations Timestamps: 0:19 - Introduction of Alex Young and his various roles 1:06 - Alex's first interaction with ChatGPT and AI tools 2:18 - Overview of Alex's work environment at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood 4:46 - Discussion on adopting AI tools in a corporate environment 5:28 - Process of introducing new technologies into Lifeblood 9:14 - Proof of concepts for AI use in the organisation 15:41 - Alex's personal use of ChatGPT for productivity 21:54 - Discussion on voice interaction with AI tools 24:37 - Alex's experience designing a tabletop card game using AI tools 30:24 - Using AI for creative projects and reducing friction in idea-to-prototype process 31:18 - Discussion on using Canva and AI for content creation 33:31 - Alex's experience with the Ship 30 for 30 writing course and using AI for ideation 36:11 - Future of work discussion: identifying business opportunities that benefit individual employees 40:35 - The importance of auditing current work processes and seeking improvements 41:21 - Encouragement for those struggling with AI adoption 42:59 - Wrap-up and final thoughts