Building AI services: how to increase productivity

Join us as we share insights and valuable lessons learned from our recent experience building an innovative, first-of-its-kind public-sector AI-enabled service. We will present two talks about important yet under-discussed aspects of building services in the new AI world:

• How to increase productivity and user satisfaction when building AI services
• Empowering Everyone: Designing for non-technical AI maintenance

What can you expect to gain from this meetup?
Invaluable Expertise: Gain access to knowledge and honest analysis of when and how AI should be deployed and maintained from experts in engineering, user research, and UX service design.
Best Practices: Learn from those who have already navigated the complex terrain of AI implementation at every stage of implementation.
Inclusive Learning: Our talks cater to a diverse audience, ensuring that even those without a technical background, from decision-makers to those with limited understanding, can extract valuable insights from our technical sessions

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AGENDA

17:30
Drinks & networking

18.00
Welcome

18:05
How to increase productivity and user satisfaction when building AI services
Ali Salaman, Head of Engineering at Caution Your Blast
Ali will talk about his experience leading the technical team building an innovative public-facing AI service, and the decision-making journey that led to improved staff efficiency and higher user satisfaction.

18:45
Empowering Everyone: Designing for non-technical AI maintenance
Sarah Hill, User Researcher at Caution Your Blast
Join Sarah as she talks about designing AI services while considering how they can thrive beyond the hands of developers. CYB’s Maintenance Tool empowers staff to run AI-enabled services without needing technical expertise.

19:25
Wrap-up

19.30
Pizza, drinks, and more networking

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Speakers

Ali Salaman, Head of Engineering at Caution Your Blast
Ali has extensive hands-on experience in leading engineering teams and navigating the complexities of building public-facing AI services, addressing a range of challenges from hallucinations and performance to data, privacy, and security. Ali’s expert-written evidence on behalf of CYB to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Select Committee Inquiry on Large Language Models was recently published by the UK Parliament.

Sarah Hill, User Researcher at Caution Your Blast
Sarah is a practised user researcher with great experience of designing for government services and was pivotal to the successful multidisciplinary approach to our innovative AI-enabled service. User-focused and investigative with a background in behaviour, pedagogy, design, and digital media, Sarah helped research and design how our first-of-its-kind AI service can be operated and maintained by non-technical staff.

Event host
Christine Fent, Head of Design, Caution Your Blast

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About this group
This is an open forum where we can share learning with each other. The group will become a regular session, so we are keen to hear from people interested in talking about AI in the public sector – particularly from a research, design, and usability perspective, and how we see AI supporting end-to-end services.

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