AI Dominates Discussion at Southern Tech Innovation Forum

Lucinda Lamont represented Southampton Science Park at the South Coast Tech: Innovation Forum, hosted by Insider Media on 7th July.

The event, sponsored by the Science Park and Azets, set out to bring the South’s business leaders together to explore current challenges and opportunities across its booming technology sector, a key pillar of the £13bn regional economy.

Compering, Georgina Faller-Fritsch spoke about the resilience and adaptability of spinouts, start-ups and tech clusters thriving in a supportive regional investment climate, in the face of a significant period of change. Insights and experiences were provided by a panel of experts: Microsoft’s Marc Esmiley, Utilita’s CTO Georgina Owens, Space South Central’s Dan Smith, Mark Cooper from QWARE and Tim Walker of Aura Technology.

Reflecting on discussions, Lucinda said: “We were very pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Insider team to bring this event to fruition. It was well attended with lots of familiar faces from across the innovation spectrum, as well as new people to connect with, amply demonstrating the demand for localised and sector-focused initiatives such as this.

“It was perhaps no surprise that AI dominated discussions, with the audience’s questions highlighting the challenges they are facing in adopting its use effectively and safely. There was a noticeable contrast between large businesses (who appear to be rolling it out more easily, some with AI strategists in place) and SMEs, many of which are grappling with a lack of knowledge and resistance from staff. This gap highlighted a widespread need for practical education and training to help organisations of all sizes adopt AI with confidence in a fast-moving situation. An interesting comparison was drawn too, to the cloud-based software revolution: another tech moment in time when initial scepticism ultimately gave way to universal acceptance and adoption.

“In closing the event, I remarked on how the audience’s questions all resonated with our everyday experience here at Southampton Science Park. We are having AI conversations all the time, from discussing how we embrace AI in our own office processes, and hosting training and round tables for residents, to being involved in wider community events like this. Increasingly too, applications for our Catalyst business accelerator are AI-backed concepts. So, from our perspective, AI is demonstrably proliferating at pace and it very clearly underpins innovation and entrepreneurialism across all sectors. We look forward to continuing to work at the cutting edge of this progress.”