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AI & CYBERSECURITY
Continued from Page 35
He added: “We’re looking to build the next generation of workforce that are AI aware and have all the skills, including the cyber skills, to be able to meet what the market is looking for.”
He also explained that AI was being used to transform how organisations operate, including his own college.
Real funding. Real deals.
Blackburn College has invested more than £4m in cyber and digital infrastructure and works closely with the Ministry of Defence and National Cyber Force to ensure courses align with ‘real world demand’.
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Tamima Mulla-Shah, from skills specialist IN4 Group, said many businesses implement technology without fully understanding how to embed it.
She said: “A lot of businesses may adopt tools, but they don’t necessarily have the in house capability to roll that out.”
And she stressed that leadership plays a decisive role. “A lot rests on decision making, and that culture comes from the leadership team. We work with senior leaders to find the needs for the organisation and make them the ones that drive that culture.”
Cyber risk remains a growing concern, particularly for SMEs. DI Giannasi warned that criminals are using the same AI tools as businesses.
Steve Bell Pierce
Martin Emmott Rosebud
He told the summit that the size of a business was irrelevant to the crooks. He added: “The reality is the criminals don’t care and are just targeting who they can, even a small business is a good target for them.”
And he stressed that preparation against a cyber-attack was critical. He told the audience: “Security is everybody’s responsibility.”
Darren Ratcliffe said that even in a world where AI is becoming increasingly relevant, he believed employability was now depended on more than technical skills alone.
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He said: “It’s one thing training somebody technically, but it’s another thing having them ready to interact in the workplace.”
THE RIGHT TOOLS TO SUCCEED
From facial recognition technology to machine learning, Lancashire businesses are at the cutting edge of the AI and digital revolution.
The summit heard from a range of business leaders from diverse sectors who shared how they are benefitting from AI and other tech tools to drive their organisations forward.
Lewis MacCallum is a director of Blackpool based VARS Technology. The niche business
of claims a day it receives. The technology can give contextual answers from the data it is fed and has halved the time spent on the task.
He said the company was using facial recognition to protect staff and customers inside petrol forecourt stores. But he stressed there were strong guard rails.
Lewis said: “The abuse of retail staff is at an all-time high and it is growing. We use live facial recognition to capture the faces of people that
When it comes to AI, context really is everything.
You need to know what it is you are trying to build, what pain points you are trying to resolve before you look at the technology
works with petrol retailers across the UK to stop fuel thefts. The business also recovered almost £3m last year from non-payers.
He said: “We have invested a lot in AI, which is now doing quite a lot of admin-heavy tasks.”
Lewis told delegates that the company had built its own AI tool to help process the hundreds
come into stores and if we know they are a previous offender we alert the staff.”
He stressed that there was a high bar that had to be met before someone appeared on a ‘watch list’ with evidence needed and reviews to ensure criteria had been met.
Austin Waddecar, director of product at
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