Alastair McDermott
Four Big AI Opportunities You Can Use Today with Alastair McDermott Ep 262 - The Global Discussion
Host Simon Hodgkins welcomes Alastair McDermott, an AI consultant, speaker, trainer, and the founder of HumanSpark•ai. Alastair is also the author of "Use AI, Stay Human" and the host of "The AI-Powered Business Leader" podcast. His perspective on artificial intelligence blends deep technical expertise with a clear focus on people, empathy, and real-world results.
From Software Engineer to AI Consultant
Alastair's journey began as a software engineer at Sun Microsystems, but he quickly realized that being an employee wasn't for him. Striking out on his own nearly two decades ago, he built businesses around programming, marketing, and website development. Everything changed in late 2022 when he saw what early versions of ChatGPT could already do with code. By mid-2023, he decided to go "all in" on AI, rebranding his business as HumanSpark.ai to emphasize both technology and the human side of innovation.
Human-First AI: Empowering Teams, Not Replacing Them
One of the strongest themes in Alastair's work is what he calls human-first AI. He challenges the assumption that AI should primarily be used to cut headcount. Instead, he argues for empowering existing teams with AI, enabling them to achieve far more than they could before.
He shared a warning about organizations that slash staff too aggressively: when institutional knowledge walks out the door, it cannot be easily replaced. His preferred approach is simple but powerful: take your current workforce and multiply their capacity fivefold with AI tools, while keeping the human expertise intact.
Real-World Case Studies
Alastair brought compelling examples of AI in action:
Medical lab transformation: By creating two lightweight AI-powered apps, he reduced the time to process a blood sample from 90 minutes to just two. The apps handled data entry and complex calculations, freeing highly skilled scientists from repetitive work. Unexpectedly, the system even flagged pipetting errors by analyzing blood test variability, offering feedback that improved lab technique.
Professional services boost: After training one firm's staff in practical AI use, the company saw a productivity gain valued at roughly £20,000 per month, after spending just £10,000 on training. While Alastair noted that productivity benefits don't always translate directly into revenue, they do reduce stress and create more enjoyable workplaces, which he counts as a win.
The Four Big Opportunities in AI
Alastair outlined what he sees as the four core opportunities AI provides to organizations and individuals:
Productivity: The baseline benefit, enabling people to get more done in less time.
New capabilities: Opening doors to skills or functions people never had before, such as design or custom software creation.
Better decision-making: Using AI to analyze data, brainstorm ideas, and serve as a thinking partner.
Accelerated learning: Helping people learn faster by explaining concepts in tailored ways.
On Artificial General Intelligence
When asked about AGI, Alastair explained that opinions differ widely on whether we are close, far away, or already there. What matters most to him is the "jagged edge" of AI performance: it excels at some tasks and struggles with others. Whether or not AGI emerges soon, the tools we already have will continue reshaping businesses and society for years to come.
Writing Use AI, Stay Human
Alastair's latest book, originally titled "The AI-Powered Thought Leader," evolved into "Use AI, Stay Human." What makes it unique is the way he wrote it. Rather than asking ChatGPT to "write a book," he built a suite of AI-powered tools to act as assistants:
A developmental editor who critiqued structure and flow.
A set of synthetic beta readers that represented different types of target audiences.
AI support to shape outlines and refine ideas while keeping its own expertise at the center.
The result is a practical, human-driven guide that shows experts how to use AI without losing their voice or values.
Free AI Toolkits
Through HumanSpark.ai, Alastair also shares free resources designed to help organizations start their AI journey. These include:
Opportunities in AI Adoption
Risks in AI Adoption
An AI Adoption Roadmap
These guides cover everything from productivity gains and new capabilities to ethics, compliance, and regulation. Importantly, they are available with no sign-up barrier, just download and use.
Wrapping Up
Alastair McDermott is part engineer, part educator, and part advocate for a balanced approach to AI. He acknowledges the risks, rejects the hype, and focuses on helping people get tangible results while keeping humanity at the center.
About The Global Discussion
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