How can human employees make themselves indispensable in the age of AI? How can we use AI to empower the Insurance sector, and combat terrorism? And what exciting new AI-related jobs are appearing for career starters?
These were just a few of the fascinating topics up for discussion at the most recent RadSoc business networking event. We were joined by almost 100 members of the community at Savills HQ in London, where we were generously hosted by Savills CFO, Simon Shaw (1978, A).
Our panel of experts opened the evening by outlining how far AI has come since its earliest iterations in the 1950s as well as its trajectory into the future.
“It took us 100 years to understand the basics of electricity, and 100 years to master it. While we are all excited about what AI is doing today, we are still in the infancy of what AI can truly do …
“If there’s one piece of advice I can give you in your careers, it is: embrace the tools that you can use to help you accelerate yourself and become superhuman, by increasing your productivity in your day-to-day work.” – Prof Andy Pardoe
After their introductory comments, the panel fielded a number of challenging and thought-provoking questions from the audience. These included topics around the human skills needed for a future workforce, legal ambiguity and copyright, revolutionising transport with AI, and what the limitations of AI as a tool in the workplace might be.
The panel session was followed by group networking sessions where attendees broke out into separate areas, each with a member of the panel. These discussions were lively and gave everyone a chance to hear from the experts, each other, and share their own experiences of how AI is impacting their own sectors. This was also an opportunity for current boys and career starters to gather insights into various industries and roles to consider for their futures. Our panellists were moved between groups, giving each a chance to take questions related to their area of expertise.
The event closed with around an hour of free networking over drinks and nibbles, providing a relaxed close to the evening and a chance for guests to establish new connections to exchange contact details.
Thank you for the valuable insights shared by our expert panel:
- Our moderator for the evening, Chris Hill (former Radley parent), Investor, Board Director, Start-up Advisor and former CEO of DispensaGroup plc.
- Prof Andy Pardoe, Founder & Group CEO of the Wisdom Works Group and Chair of the Deep Tech Innovation Centre at the University of Warwick.
- Charles Towers-Clark (1983, C), Author of The WEIRD CEO, Forbes contributor and former Chairman and CEO of Pod Group.
- Andrew Yeoman (Radley parent), Founder and CEO of Concirrus.
- Robert Bassett Cross (Radley parent), Founder and CEO of Adarga.
The gathering included a number of Radley parents and ORs who are currently working in industries being transformed by the implementation of AI, as well as young ORs looking at careers in roles which are emerging alongside AI. Everyone had valuable insights to share, and we are grateful to all who shared their own experiences and opinions. We were joined by 16 current boys interested in hearing about how AI is shaping the workplace of the future, who came up from the College.
To explore other RadSoc business networking events, visit our YouTube channel where recordings of both networking events and our Beyond Radley careers series are available.
Visit the RadSoc Business Network page for more information about the Radley community’s thriving professional network, and for links to Radley Connect, our online networking and careers platform.
