‘Do you mind if we just record this meeting?’

I mean it is hard to say no right? As ‘no’ might be seen as a negative, a red flag, a ‘hold on, I will just hide my personal collection of nuclear weapons behind me’ moment! To most … the recording often means there will be an outcome, for you, for me, for them.

So, recording starts and two hours later it stops. Most people would not want to relive those two hours again. But some do. As a few people rewatch the highlights, someone gets the task of downloading the transcript, summarising, sending out action points etc.

Then that someone had a bright idea. How can we reference a summary of our own information we were talking about in our meeting notes? How can I automate the collation of the action points, timeline and financial summary associated to the meeting? How can this simply be a ten minute task?

There must be AI doing this boring stuff now ….?

We are all used to traditional software providing tools to accomplish specific tasks but the landscape is shifting. Think of it this way: regular software is often like being handed a toolbox – you’ve got to figure out which tools to use and how to use them for your task. But AI agents? They’re more like having a helpful assistant who just gets the job done for you. No more clicking through complicated menus or doing the same boring tasks over and over!

Take data analysis, for instance. With traditional software, you would be plugging numbers into spreadsheets, creating formulas, and making charts yourself. But with an AI agent, you just hand over your data and say, “what can you tell me about this?” It comes back with the insights and next steps following your organisational parameters. Yes, you need help to build and refine a prompt (s) but once done, everything is repeatable with one command. Even your advanced meeting summary.

Those of us who can remember Holly from Red Dwarf, the TV series set around the AI-powered spaceship’s computer, the future is users speaking, gesturing (maybe thinking) to interact with software. The API-first headless architectures have already begun allowing software to function invisibly across devices. An omnipresent service. The interface disappears while the service remains, responding to our business needs without requiring us to navigate menus. How close are Alexa or Google Nest technology today?

‘I am Holly, the ship’s computer, with an IQ of 6000; the same IQ as 6000 PE teachers.’ BBC Episode, Future Echoes

But today, and in many project spaces, your AI outputs are only as good as your data inputs. Across other functions, AI helps workflows run smoother and quicker.

And that is the point. AI is not one journey but multiple small steps across different areas to build a smarter organisation for future employees who love recording meetings …. for example.

‘Errrr … are we recording this?’