Gen AI Innovation
I've led a lot of AI workshops. Today I witnessed a first: a father and son learning Generative AI side by side, in the same room, at the same time.
While Dad — a paramedic — was building first-responder manuals and business plans, his eighth-grade son was busy creating world-class imagery and study aids of his own. Watching that happen next to each other was the clearest proof I've seen of what this technology actually does. It levels the playing field for every generation and every industry, at the same time, in the same room.
An Incredibly Diverse Group, One Shared Mission
The group in front of me that day had almost nothing in common on paper — different countries, different industries, different starting points with AI entirely. What they shared was a single mission: learning how AI could actually help them, in their own work and their own lives.
From absolute beginners to seasoned users already comfortable with the tools, the feedback afterwards was unanimous. Learning how to design effective prompts, and knowing which AI tool actually suits which task, were the two things that unlocked everything else — whether the tool in question was ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Copilot.
You only had to look at what they produced to see it for yourself.
What the Room Actually Built
Pauline, an Operations and Compliance Manager at a multinational mine in Mozambique, created an audit document in ten minutes that she had been working on since January.
Tom, an experienced helicopter pilot deployed in Saudi Arabia, produced an instructional safety video for new pilots.
Ashley, an HR and Organisational Development Specialist, integrated her consulting material into a properly formatted marketing document.
Ross, a third-year Computer Science student, consolidated all his code into a single, usable learning and instruction document.
Di, a Community Transformation Trainer and Consultant, updated her training material into resources that were noticeably more relevant and impactful than what she walked in with.
Tam, a local estate agent, formulated an end-to-end marketing strategy aimed at attracting overseas property investors.
Nine months of stalled paperwork done in ten minutes. A safety video built from scratch. A career's worth of scattered code, finally organised. None of that is a small win dressed up to sound big — that's just what happens when someone who knows their work well enough gets the right tool and the right prompt for it.
The Moment That Stayed With Me
By far the most magical moment of the day was watching a father and son learn AI together.
Eben, a Grade 8 scholar, designed content to help himself study more effectively, and produced some of the most innovative and genuinely mind-blowing imagery I've seen come out of a workshop. His dad, Anton, a paramedic currently deployed in India, built a polished safety manual for first responders — and, on the side, a business plan for a lure-making venture tied to his fishing hobby.
Same room. Same afternoon. Two completely different generations, two completely different sets of goals, both walking out with something real they'd built themselves.
Why This Is the Work I Do
This is the part of running these workshops that never gets old — watching a paramedic, a pilot, an estate agent, a compliance manager, a student, and a schoolboy all in one room, all leaving with something that actually helps them. Such a privilege to help these people on their way.