The one with the split
We all get asked a lot around the offices and the professional interwebs “What are you doing these days ?” & “What’s up ?”.
Often times, this is a simple question that can be answered logically and in straight-forward manner.
However, this turns out to be quite a complex question for us at the AIE Nordics these days, and the answer is almost jokingly as pertinent when reversed to “What are you not doing ?!”
As well as being geographically split, we find ourselves divided between different work involvements that are competing for our weekly attention and cognitive span.
“But which ones ?” — I am glad you asked !
Well, Johan is in Tanzania, off-from-work-but-still-somewhat-working and hosting a keynote about the Future of Digital Healthcare and Innovation.
A finger on the pulse of Generative AI
Meghan and I have been conducting an ongoing series of workshops around Generative AI for an anti-money laundering client on its day 2 in a splendid, snowy Stockholm — all about exploring the technicalities and underlying philosophy and functioning of our beloved transformer based Large Language Models.
Meghan bestowed her inspirational vision of what constitutes an innovative concept, how to formulate a problem statement that accurately points towards a desired outcome as well as what makes an idea a good idea.
On the other hand, I attempted my best at following the path laid on day 1 by our critically acclaimed AI-oracle Robert Engels through the intricacies of Large Language Models and what’s under the hood.
During the afternoon, our clients worked out their areas of challenges, ideated and started to encapsulate these challenges and pain points into well-crafted problem statements.
Language is important, and the act of writing down your challenging areas in addition to your imagined solutions to them is your first concept, your first throw at the wall to see if it hits said wall before even understanding if it sticks.
But hey, that is solely for the beginning of the week !
The workshop-ception
As much work and engagement as this already means, we had the immense pleasure of what we consider our second favourite reoccurring involvement with the Ignite program — the workshop for workshops !
A packed agenda full of very interactive activities, carefully mapping out the main characteristics and components of what is a workshop as well as how they are tied together.
Our goal for the attendants (a whopping 50!) is to ultimately demystify the concept of workshops as well as constituting a first experience of crafting and conducting their very own 30 minutes long workshop !
We believe in learning by doing, and nothing prepares you better to the potential pitfalls of a workshop than conducting one yourself !
There were some awkward moments, unplanned silences, time shortages in rushing activities amongst happy chaos, but it’s been crazy fun for us to witness, the conductors to conduct and the participants to participate.
This makes one workshop under their belt, and that is inarguably a good thing.
At the end of the first day of this two-days experience as one group we all had a pleasant afterwork to let of some steam after such intense, active participation — we even had the pleasure of having an online, in-house produced scavenger hunt. Fun times !
Aaand that is it for this November week, see you next time !
In the meantime, please keep innovating — the world needs it now more than ever.
Arthur Veret
