Responsible AI for small business | 101 - First steps (NZ)
Description
Get started with AI in just two weeks. Four sessions. Two weeks. Real results.
Learn to use AI the right way - ethically, safely, and with the lowest environmental impact
There are plenty of free AI courses right now. And webinars, YouTube tutorials, government initiatives. So why pay for this one?
Most are built for everyone, which means they're built for no one in particular. This one is built specifically for small business owners, by someone who uses AI every day in her own business and has nearly four years of hard-won, real-world experience to share. Not textbook theory. Not a funded overview. Practical, honest guidance from someone who has done the work.
Small business realities
Sales, marketing, operations, admin, finance, customer service. AI won’t replace any of those roles. But it can make every single one of them faster, cheaper, less exhausting, and create new opportunities for your business.
After just two weeks, you could be:
Drafting client emails and proposals in minutes instead of hours
Writing a sales pitch tailored to a specific prospect - without starting from scratch every time
Summarising long documents, reports, or contracts without reading every word
Preparing for client meetings in half the time
Writing social media posts and website updates without staring at a blank screen
Repurposing one piece of content into social posts, an email, and a summary - all at once
Researching suppliers, competitors, or new markets without spending hours on Google
Turning rough notes into polished documents your clients actually want to read
Drafting the difficult client email you've been putting off
Getting unstuck on a business decision by talking it through with AI
Creating SOPs, agendas, and meeting summaries from rough notes or a voice memo
Writing award submissions, grant applications, or funding proposals
None of these require technical skills. Just a browser, a low-cost AI tool, and the confidence to know what to ask - and what to keep private.
Why learn with Caroline
Caroline has always been drawn to new technology - not for its own sake, but for what it can unlock. When generative AI emerged, she was in early - not just using the off-the-shelf tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot, but going under the hood - connecting directly to the APIs behind ChatGPT and Claude to build her own AI-powered tools from scratch.
She's done the hard work of figuring out which tools to trust and why - including walking away from some that didn't meet her standards on ethics. She knows the pressure small business owners feel to adopt AI quickly, the anxiety about getting it wrong, and the overwhelm of not knowing where to start. She's navigated all of it in a real business, with real clients, under real pressure - and in this course she shares that experience openly, including the trade-offs she has weighed and the choices she has made in her own business.
She doesn't just teach this - she uses it. Caroline used Claude to translate a sales methodology into a complete outreach funnel for her own business - scripts, emails, follow-up sequences, the whole process - and now has new customers booking conversations with her every week. That's the kind of real-world result this course is built around.
When you learn from someone who has genuinely done the work - you get something no free course or funded webinar can offer: Honest, lived experience.
What kind of AI are we talking about?
This course focuses on generative AI - tools like Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, and Copilot that you talk to in plain English to draft, summarise, research, and problem-solve. No robots, no coding, no automation pipelines. Just practical tools you can open in a browser and start using today.
We'll mainly use Claude for demonstrations, but most of the skills you build transfer to any generative AI tool. What you learn here, you can apply anywhere.
The real risks nobody talks about
AI is moving fast - and the pressure to adopt it is real. But most beginner courses skip the part that matters most: What's actually safe to put in, what could get you into trouble, and how different tools handle your data in very different ways.
Not all AI tools are equal. Data privacy, ethics, and environmental impact vary significantly between platforms - and if you're handling client information, employee data, or anything commercially sensitive, those differences matter. Under New Zealand's Privacy Act 2020 and Australia's Privacy Act, using AI carelessly with personal information isn't just a reputational risk - it can be a legal one.
This course puts those risks front and centre, because confidence without safety isn't confidence at all.
What you'll cover
Session 1: What AI actually is - and your first hands-on win
Session 2: How to use AI safely & responsibly
Session 3: Saving time on everyday work
Session 4: Making it stick - how to build AI into your week, choose the right tools, and leave with a plan you'll actually use
What to expect
Two sessions per week over two weeks, each 45 minutes online. Kept deliberately small so everyone gets real help, not just a seat in a webinar.
Each session follows the same shape: A short teaching segment, then you do it yourself with your own work, then a small task to try before the next session. The teaching is recorded so you can catch up if you miss one. The hands-on work is never recorded though - because that's where the real learning happens, and you need to feel free to fumble.
What you'll walk away with
You won't finish this course an AI expert - and that's entirely the point. You'll finish it having dipped your toe in, saved real time on real work, and with enough confidence to keep going. That's all you need to start.
You'll also leave with:
Confidence to use AI in your daily work without second-guessing every decision
A clear understanding of what's safe - and what isn't - including under NZ and AU privacy law
Practical workflows you can use straight away
A personal AI action plan built around your actual business
Access to teaching recordings and supporting resources
This is a small, active cohort - come ready to participate, try things live, and bring your real work challenges.
Who it's for
Small business owners, sole traders, and their teams who have little or no experience with AI and want to start using it in a way that's practical, responsible, and right for their business. No technical knowledge required.
Ready to go further?
102 - Next steps is the natural follow-on, taking you from confident beginner to someone with real, repeatable AI workflows built into your business. Buy both together for $320 and save $78.
https://events.humanitix.com/responsible-ai-for-small-business-102-next-steps-nz
Lineup
Caroline Thalund
Caroline Thalund is a sustainability and business consultant with over 25 years of experience helping organisations work smarter and more responsibly. As founder and CEO of Sustainability 360 (S360), she works with businesses across New Zealand and Australia on ESG, B Corp certification, and practical capability building. A self-confessed tech enthusiast, Caroline has spent six years working alongside her own software development team building the S360 platform - so when generative AI became publicly available nearly four years ago, she was in early. Not just using the off-the-shelf tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot, but going under the hood - connecting directly to the APIs behind ChatGPT and Claude to build her own AI-powered tools from scratch. She's done the hard work of figuring out which tools to trust and why - including walking away from some that didn't meet her standards on privacy, ethics, or environmental impact. She knows the pressure small business owners feel to adopt AI quickly, the anxiety about getting it wrong, and the overwhelm of not knowing where to start. She's navigated all of it in a real business, with real clients, under real pressure - and in this course she shares that experience openly, including the trade-offs she has weighed and the choices she has made in her own business. Her approach is behaviour-change focused, jargon-free, and built around what actually works for busy people running real businesses. Not textbook theory.
Agenda
Session 1 - What AI actually is, and your first win
We cut through the noise and give you a plain-language understanding of what generative AI actually is - and isn't. You'll meet the main tools, understand why the skills transfer between them, and have your first real hands-on win using your own work before the session ends.
Session 2 - How to use AI safely and responsibly
This is the session most AI courses skip - and the one most small business owners actually need. You'll learn exactly what should never go into an AI tool and why, how to spot when AI is making things up, and the simple rules that keep you, your clients, and your business protected.
Session 3 - Save time on everyday work
This is where it gets practical. We work through the everyday tasks that eat your time - emails, summaries, research, drafting, brainstorming - and rebuild them using AI. You'll leave having saved real time on something real, with actions and knowledge you can take straight back to your desk.
Session 4 - How to build AI into your week, choose the right tools, and leave with a plan you'll actually use
Knowing how to use AI and actually building it into your week are two very different things. This session is about making the habit real - finding where AI fits naturally into your existing routine, reducing the friction that makes people stop after a few weeks, and understanding which tools are actually worth using and why. We cover tool choice honestly: how the main tools differ on capability, data privacy, ethics, and environmental impact, and which Caroline recommends and why - including the ones she's walked away from. Then in the final part of the session, you build your own one-page AI action plan right there - guided, structured, done before you log off.
FAQs
- What happens if a facilitator is unwell?
A contingency date of Friday 30th at 11am is held in reserve if needed to reschedule (i.e. presenter illness etc.). Please block out that date as well.
- Can I get a refund?
No refunds are available unless the event is cancelled by the organiser.
- What if I buy a ticket but then can't attend the workshop on the day?
The workshop will be recorded (except for breakout rooms). If you miss it, you will receive the recording, key takeaways and all resources associated with the workshop.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
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