Tell us a little about your professional history and your expertise in artificial intelligence (AI).

I have led legal, contract management, procurement and supplier management teams across almost 10 sectors, including government. My focus has always been on transformation - designing ways to measurably improve commercial outcomes in an enduring way. 

The work I have been involved in is diverse, from shaping procurement strategies and drafting contracts, to working as principal negotiator for large banks and mediating disputes as an accredited international mediator. 

If I think about some of the highlights in the public sector, there are a few. I authored parts of the UK government's outsourcing playbook, designed to champion innovation and improve the way the government works with its large body of suppliers. I led EU exit commercial assurance for BEIS (Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy) and DEFRA (Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs).

I set up the first pan-government disputes practice within the UK Cabinet Office, to improve the approach to supplier disputes. I also led the commercial transformation for the UK Royal Air Force with a razor focus on improving delivery relationships with critical defence suppliers, for the benefit of all parties. 

In the private sector, there has been a similar focus on shaping healthier commercial relationships. I built commercial disputes centres of excellence for large private sector organisations, to enable contract management and supplier management teams to realise better outcomes in complex and challenging delivery environments where things can often go wrong. This is a particular highlight, because commercial disputes is where I chose to focus my career for two main reasons.

Firstly, acknowledging we operate in complex delivery environments, and identifying pragmatic ways to manage this, is more important than ever. Secondly, commercial relationships that are supported with the right tools are more successful. Good tools are the antidote to risk, escalating cost, and disruption. 

Over the last five years I have developed a deep interest in AI, and how it can aid us in improving commercial relationships and the speed of resolution when things go wrong, as they often do. I studied data science, machine learning (ML) and AI at masters level. AI is exciting when you see it at work, a true enabler in shaping better commercial outcomes.

How would you summarise the major benefits of AI and ML in society currently?

It might be helpful to start by explaining what AI and ML are. AI is the broad concept of creating machines or software that can perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence - tasks like understanding language, recognising objects in an image, or even making decisions. AI enables us to build systems that are capable of intelligent behaviour.

ML is a specific approach within AI. It's a technique that allows machines to learn from data rather than being explicitly programmed. This means that instead of writing rules for every possible scenario, we feed data to the machine, and it learns patterns which make it better at a task over time. Performance improves as the machine is exposed to more data.

At a high level, AI is transforming our ability to reason vast amounts of data, automate tasks, and make precise, informed decisions faster than ever before. In healthcare, for example, AI already supports early diagnosis of illnesses - and it does this very well. In finance, AI can be used to enhance fraud detection and risk management. At the core, AI enables efficiency, accuracy, and new insights that help humans tackle challenges more effectively. 

Society benefits when we direct resources and energy towards innovation and deeper problem-solving. We're on the verge of a big change in how AI works. The future is advanced AI systems that work more independently as 'agents'. These agents will be able to interact with each other in complex ways, coordinating to complete tasks without needing constant input from us. 

I believe the standard for AI tools is three-fold - alignment, agency, and autonomy. We need to design AI that operates in sync with human values and objectives, ensuring it works towards beneficial outcomes. We need to create AI systems that can make decisions independently, but in a way that respects human oversight. Finally we need AI to operate with minimal human intervention, allowing it to inject true efficiency into complex tasks - that’s where the real value lies.

What are the biggest procurement and supply opportunities currently in AI and ML?

There are so many huge opportunities. AI offers opportunities to streamline the sourcing process, improve supplier risk management, and make demand forecasting more accurate. For example, AI can certainly assess performance and highlight potential risks, such as economic instability or non-compliance with regulatory standards, long before they impact the supply chain. AI also brings significant potential in contract management and contract drafting, and we see many of these solutions in the market. As procurement and supply professionals look to operate more strategically, AI will be an important ally.

At Resolutiion, we’re focused on conflict management and dispute resolution, as a critical area within procurement and supply. Approaches to conflict management and dispute resolution directly impact commercial outcomes. Disputes frequently trigger project delays, operational disruption, additional costs, and strained relationships. Our technology enables a razor focus on preserving relationships and reducing cost, risk and disruption, and delivers millions of pounds in savings to each business, each year. That is the beauty of AI, the benefits it delivers tend to be very sizeable.

And do you think people are coming to terms with this technology in general – will it ever change or surpass the human connection?

This is a smart community. The medical field has charged ahead with AI systems that can diagnose diseases, analyse patient records, interpret medical imaging, and discover new therapies. I see the same readiness from the majority of businesses to onboard AI solutions in the procurement and supply space. 

Of course there will always be some outliers who are behind, but they seem to sit in a minority group. For those organisations who recognise that they are slightly behind, I would challenge them to consider what growth and success means in today’s modern business landscape. Technology is not about giving up human control, it has always been about the ability to reach superior outcomes, at a faster pace. Technology is fundamental to remaining agile and competitive.

At Resolutiion, we’ve spent several years building the unique data sets that power our AI platform. Our experience is that people are very excited by its potential, not as a replacement for human connection, but as an enhancer of it. The Resolutiion platform is special, because our AI models inject objectivity into human decision-making, allowing people to approach commercial challenges in a very different way.

Business is riddled with deep, but solvable issues. Now that AI is within reach, not leveraging it is like asking people to send messages by pigeon when we have mobile phones, and a simple call will communicate the same message in a fraction of the time. Embracing new tools and technologies is absolutely necessary for better results - that is the heart of continuous improvement.