Artificial Intelligence work


The Artificial Intelligence Revolution

For better or worse, we are now in the midst of the AI revolution. It presents numerous major challenges and just as many exciting opportunities. As an issue, working on the impact of AI lets me to bring together a number of areas of research and practice that I have been involved in. These include researching the impact of new technology on employment, community responses to social harm and researching how governments can use smart regulation to reduce social harm and mitigate its impacts, helping organisations that work with communities to be new technology early adopters so that they can use it creatively for community empowerment, defining outcomes for government public-facing digital strategy, running a software start-up focused on speeding up organisations strategy and implementation using visual planning, and working as a clinical psychologist on helping people cope with stress.


Presentations and workshops on AI strategy and Impact

I am now making presentations and running workshops for organisations’ staff, management, and boards on the psychological and social impact of AI. These workshops are not aimed just at the level of introducing AI into their products and services. They focus on helping them understand the broader implications of the AI revolution for their business model, customers, clients, comparative advantage. They also cover the social responses that potentially may soon develop in the face of the rapid advance of AI into all areas of life. See my presentation and workshop offerings.


Media comment on AI

I also do a lot of media commentary on the impacts of AI. In particular I am interested in the psychology, social and political impact of AI. See my media pieces on the calls for a pause in AI research, the effect on the political system, and the effect on jobs.


Dr Duignan’s Technology Experience

During his career he 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, involved in presentations, training and promotion of the use of the internet and web to groups in the health sector 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, work for the Royal Society of NZ on public consultation regarding the management of technological risk, involved 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 visualisation software. Wider experience includes: has done strategy work across all sectors. Was the director of the Labour Research Unit at the NZ Parliament. A Fulbright Senior Scholar at the Urban Institute in Washington D.C. Has undertaken consulting work for international organisations such as the IMF and other governments.