Workshops we Offer on AI’s Impact in 2026



See Dr Duignan’s media comment on AI. Impacts on politics, education, jobs, government and society.


Boards and Management

 

Those that ‘understand the significance of this change - and act on it first - will be at a considerable advantage’ Ethan Mollick, HBR.

Strategic Challenges of AI For Boards and Management in 2026 - a one-hour presentation, or more extended workshop, to spark in-depth board or management strategic conversations about the challenges that AI is now presenting as it moves into its next wave. AI has a lot of offer but boards and management also need to grapple with the fact that AI may massively disrupt, and in some cases virtually eliminate, certain types of business models. Boards and management are already fully engaged in leveraging AI within their current operations. But they also need to focus on how AI in 2026 will transform their current markets and whether AI’s deepening penetration may reduce or eliminate their customer base sooner rather than later. We have identified 14 ways in which you need to understand AI’s impacts. We provoke discussion on these in our workshops.



government agencies

Strategic Challenges of AI For Government in 2026 a one-hour presentation (or more extended workshop) covering the 14 areas of impact that AI will have in 2026 that Government Agencies need to be thinking about now. The focus is on the implications of the deepening AI penetration on government organizations. AI chatbots are about to transform the economic, social and political landscape; your agency needs to be thinking urgently about how to quickly adapt to the rapidly evolving AI environment. This technology is changing rapidly month by month as we move towards 2026 and your agency needs to be working through the next wave of AI rollout.


Nonprofits and community groups

Strategic Challenges of AI For Nonprofits and Community Groups in 2026 - a one-hour presentation (or more extended workshop) covering the 14 areas of impact that AI is having on communities as we move towards 2026. In addition to the risks associated with AI, they present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for communities to grasp new tools for community innovation. The overall impact of chatbots and AI on society depends on whether prosocial actors, such as nonprofits, community groups and communities, organize around preventing social harm that may result from their introduction. Equally important is for community organizations and communities to increase the speed of their exploration of the wide-ranging potential for using AI for prosocial purposes. In this workshop, we will discuss the 14 areas of impact of AI. We will also look at a vision for communities seizing the opportunities that AI presents to build community, work on inequality and use them to help community members get increased access to knowledge and information.


Feedback from AI strategy Workshops by Dr Paul Duignan

'Excellent.'
’I like that the presentation leads to a lot of thinking about impacts of AI and how we can handle/embrace it.'
'Very interesting presentation. This was a great introduction to raise awareness about how fast it is growing, and its implications (thinking about policies, psychological effects).’
’So interesting. Super fast and full of interesting insights.'
'In such a short time, there was so much - thank you".
So much information delivered in easily digestible, relevant chunks.'


Dr Paul Duignan’s experience in Technology impact

During his career, Paul has been a researcher on the impact of new technology, involved in discussions regarding the effects of new technologies such as the introduction of electronic barcoding into NZ, involved in national IT workforce planning discussions, undertaken presentations, training and promotion on the use of the internet and web to groups in the health and community sectors and groups such as the NZ Institute of Directors. Did strategy work on how the NZ government should move to more digital interaction with citizens and undertook work for the Royal Society of NZ on public consultation regarding the management of technological risk. He was participated in setting up a system of Access Grids in NZ universities (early multimedia internet-connected hubs for research on the NZ KAREN academic network) and ran a startup developing award-winning strategy visualization software. Wider experience includes: facilitating strategy work across all sectors. He was the director of the Labour Research Unit at the NZ Parliament. He has also been a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the Urban Institute in Washington D.C. In addition, Paul has undertaken consulting work internationally, for instance with international organisations such as the IMF.