New Course

Ethical, Grounded & Practical AI for Small Business

I’d love your feedback, and to see if you’re interested

OrlaFitz Mobile Profile

I’m exploring creating a live course for small business owners who want to use AI more confidently, ethically, and without losing their own voice (and mind 😁) in the process.

Despite all the hype, we’ve all been using AI in our businesses for years without realising it, Google search, spam filters, fraud detection, grammar checks, and even the algorithms we love to hate on LinkedIn and other social networks.

This new wave of AI feels so much more powerful, but life is busy, and not everyone has time to learn how to use it well. It often creates more work than it removes. Despite feeling more productive, you can end up drowning in strategy documents and very convincing plans that go nowhere – adding to the general sense of being behind and overwhelmed!

As a designer, I regularly get ten-page briefs for jobs that are miles from the actual budget and expectations, because the client didn’t know how to edit the brief. AI makes this kind of thing easy to produce and hard to spot.

What working well with AI really feels like

It’s a fast-changing landscape, and it’s not enough to start using a tool and hope for the best. Working well with AI means:

  • Knowing the right tool for the job
  • Setting up a project or context properly so you get the best out of the AI
  • Putting the right safeguards in place before you begin – both for yourself and for the AI.  It is too easy to let it do your thinking for you!
  • Knowing what questions to ask by understanding how AIs work.
  • Critically assessing what AI gives you back to save time and thought instead of burying yourself in work that sounds impressive but completely overwhelms or derails you.

The Why…

I know even talking about AI is controversial in some circles but I genuinely believe AI, if used well, can support people who are not yet in the position to afford ongoing business development, admin or strategic support. It can help them to think more clearly, plan more soundly, and build with more confidence.  If you are worried about AI’s impact on water and electricity – please read this excellent piece by George Kao to put it into perspective:  https://georgekao.substack.com/p/can-we-use-ai-and-still-love-the

Not everyone has access, but those of us who do – have the opportunity to help shape it, to help make it better, more ethical and more inclusive.  If we don’t engage, we are leaving AI to learn from those who only want to exploit it for personal gain.  I had to get my soap box in here 😁!

What I am creating ethical ai course

What I’m cookin’

I love learning together in small groups – they are so powerful and empowering.

I’d love to bring together a small group of about 8 people and build this course around your questions, experience and needs.

Whether you’re already using AI daily or haven’t touched it yet because it feels overwhelming, I’d love to hear where you’re at. If you hate it and want me to know why – I’m open to hearing that too!

If you’d prefer not to fill in a form – just email me at orla@orlafitz.com

Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing from you!