AI in Practice – Real-world insight from the people shaping AI today

Join us for the PwC AI Academy Guest Speaker Series - a set of thought-provoking talks exploring how AI is being used across sectors right now.Across three sessions, you’ll hear from leading voices in policy, technology, and innovation. These sessions go beyond the hype, offering grounded insights into how AI is being applied in real organisations - the wins, the risks, and what it takes to make it work.The series is part of the PwC GenAI Accelerator, delivered in partnership with Makers. It’s designed to give learners, line managers, and stakeholders direct access to the perspectives shaping the future of work - helping you build fluency, confidence, and real-world understanding of AI in action.

Speaker line-up and topics

Here’s what to expect across the series:

• Sun 4 Aug – Dr. Laura Gilbert (Ellison Institute, former No10 Director of AI)on “Deploying AI at scale: Lessons from No10 and beyond” – unpacking what it really takes to implement AI across large public systems, from training civil servants to building cross-government capacity.
• Wed 7 Aug – Greg Detre (co-founder of Memrise, former Channel 4 Chief Data Scientist)on “Our new AI colleagues: How to manage agents” – a practical look at how organisations can use and manage autonomous agents effectively.
• Sun 11 Aug – Rt Hon Michelle Donelan (former Secretary of State for Science, Innovation & Tech)on “Work disrupted: How AI is rewiring our 9 to 5” – exploring the policy shifts, workforce changes, and skills agenda reshaped by AI.
• Wed 14 Aug – Imran Shafi OBE (former Director for AI at DSIT)on “Winning the AI race: What the UK needs to do now” – insights on what it takes to drive national-scale AI innovation and cross-sector transformation.