12 months ago, I would have never imagined AI to completely transform my life and career plans. Today, I’m driving AI innovation at Mainpower, posting educational content across YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn, and running my own AI consultancy helping individuals and businesses upskill and deploy AI.
AI at Mainpower
I was fortunate at the end of my degree to get a few different job offers, and one stood out at Mainpower. The role was focused on using data and AI across the business. I’ve essentially become an internal AI consultant, meeting with all parts of the business to uncover use cases and areas of repetitive tasks that don’t add human value, then going out to build and deploy solutions.
I’ve worked on a wide range of projects:
- Machine learning on time-series data for low voltage anomaly detection
- Load forecasting across the network
- Computer vision for pole defect analysis
- Information retrieval from handwritten notes
- Chatbots for the customer service team and PDF-related documents
These tools allow Mainpower to save significant time and make more informed decisions, ultimately saving the business money.
Learning by Building
The best way to learn is getting stuck in and actually doing things. I built several side projects to upskill:
- Glow for Less - Upload images of beauty products and AI finds cheaper alternatives with the same ingredients
- Blake’s AI Assistants - A collection of chatbots covering travel, exercise, and other advice
- Real Estate Tour Tool - Converts static house images into a full realistic video tour
Community-Focused Projects
Beyond business applications, I’ve been able to work on community-focused projects:
- My Memory Friend - A voice assistant for people in rest homes to have a 24/7 conversational companion that knows all about their family and history
- Tupuna - A podcasting app for Maori and Pacifica students to connect with their elders, get transcriptions, and ask questions about family memories
It’s really rewarding to provide value not only to businesses looking to enhance their profit, but also to these community-focused initiatives.
Connecting with the Wider Community
I love connecting with the wider community to hear lessons and stories from people with different backgrounds. I’ve hosted an AI and engineering event with 90 engineers and four guest speakers, filmed podcasts, and joined the AI Forum and AEC working groups.
I’ve accomplished a lot in a short amount of time, but this is only the beginning.
