{"id":98505,"date":"2025-01-14T13:26:33","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T18:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=98505"},"modified":"2025-01-14T17:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T22:27:10","slug":"public-event-to-explore-ais-impact-on-small-businesses-non-profits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2025\/01\/public-event-to-explore-ais-impact-on-small-businesses-non-profits\/","title":{"rendered":"Public event to explore AI\u2019s impact on small businesses, non-profits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>While generative artificial intelligence (GAI) \u2014 used to create text, videos and images as well as solve problems \u2014 could save small businesses and non-profit organizations time and money, questions remain about the benefits and potential pitfalls of this emerging technology.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Jan. 21, Brock University\u2019s Niagara Community Observatory (NCO) will explore the implementation of GAI during a <a href=\"https:\/\/experiencebu.brocku.ca\/event\/281159\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">free online event<\/a> launching its latest policy brief, <em>Navigating Generative AI: Implications for Small Businesses and Non-Profits<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>During the event, Assistant Professors of Communication, Popular Culture and Film Kate Cassidy and Michelle Chen will present the brief, which they co-authored.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Generative AI has the potential to be a valuable tool for small businesses and non-profits, but it\u2019s often used by employees without organizations realizing it and without a clear plan to manage its risks,&#8221; says Cassidy. &#8220;Our research focuses on helping these organizations adopt AI in thoughtful ways that support their goals, values and the people they serve.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Following the presentation will be a panel discussion with Dolores Fabiano, Executive Director of the South Niagara Chambers of Commerce; Rachel Gillmore, Executive Director of Community Potential; and Blake Landry, Manager of Economic Research and Analysis at Niagara Region.<\/p>\n<p>The discussion will touch on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI can boost productivity.<\/li>\n<li>The legal, operational and ethical risks tied to unco-ordinated adoption.<\/li>\n<li>Practical steps for responsible integration through policies, training and government support.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;The significance of AI as an emergent, life-altering and civilization-shaping phenomenon can hardly be overstated. While the policy brief focuses on small businesses and non-profit organizations, it\u2019s vital that local and regional municipalities and other stakeholders provide a vibrant, local ecosystem of support that enables the adaptation of workflows and employee skill sets that address the opportunities and challenges of AI trends,&#8221;\u00a0says NCO Director and Political Science Professor Charles Conteh.<\/p>\n<p>The free public event takes place online from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Registration is required to attend and an event link will be emailed to registrants closer to the day. To register or learn more about the event, email <a href=\"mailto:cphillips3@brocku.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cphillips3@brocku.ca<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While generative artificial intelligence (GAI) \u2014 used to create text, videos and images as well as solve problems \u2014 could save small businesses and non-profit organizations time and money, questions remain about the benefits and potential pitfalls of this emerging technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":98507,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[54,9794,5,38],"tags":[14157,3095,12435,14155,9498,430,4104,7891,522,14153,2775,12203,295,63,617,14154,3521,14156,3325,1827,7889],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98505"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98505"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98508,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98505\/revisions\/98508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}