NAIC AI and The Actionist Session 3 – Zoom Meeting summary (edited)
Attending: Gavin, Yommy, Janet, Femi, Halima, Patricia, Mavis, Des, Mojisola
Apologies: Shona
Quick recap
The group shared their diverse experiences with AI tools like ChatGPT, discussing both practical applications and concerns about its impact on society and mental health. They explored environmental considerations of AI technology and its role in community collaboration, with a focus on responsible consumption and collective action. The conversation ended with discussions about AI tools’ accessibility and functionality, including comparisons between different AI platforms and their potential for creative and community-focused applications.
Next steps
- Gavin: Put up a Session 3 resource page on the website
- Gavin: Check with ChatGPT why the Mancala game doesn’t work on browsers other than Chrome
- Gavin: Put something up on the website showing exactly where they are on the UEL campus for the next session
- Participants: Register on new mosaic.org website to join the New Mosaic project
- Participants: Share contact details in chat for potential in-person meetings
- Gavin: Send out campus location information for the next session
Summary
AI Experiences and Community Impact
The group discussed their experiences with AI, particularly ChatGPT. Janet shared how she used ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas for charity events and develop a skincare product. Yommy described using AI for email subject lines and summarizing text. Femi mentioned using AI for research and brainstorming in an educational context. Patricia expressed concerns about AI, citing her lack of trust and fear of job displacement. Halima shared her mixed feelings about AI, acknowledging its benefits while expressing concerns about its impact on society. Mavis discussed her use of AI for research and proposal development, expressing interest in its potential for good. Desmond shared his positive experience with AI in a community project. Mojisola, a parenting lecturer, expressed her beginner’s approach to AI, noting its potential to enhance ideas. The group agreed on the importance of using AI as a community tool for organizing information and entering into dialogue.
AI and Climate Action Discussion
The group discussed the environmental impact of AI and technology, with Patricia and Janet expressing concerns about energy consumption and the need for individual and collective action to address climate change. Gavin agreed and suggested that AI could help empower people to create structures for change. He demonstrated using ChatGPT, testing its voice mode and functionality during the meeting. The conversation highlighted the importance of community collaboration and responsible consumption in the face of consumer-driven practices and corporate influence.
ChatGPT’s Role in Mental Health Support
The group discussed the use of ChatGPT and its potential impact on mental health. ChatGPT, responding through Gavin’s link, emphasized that the AI is designed to be supportive but not a substitute for professional help, and explained the safeguards in place to recognize and address signs of emotional distress. Janet asked about ChatGPT’s ability to recognize when a user needs professional help, and ChatGPT explained that the AI can detect certain cues but is not a substitute for human support. The group also discussed the limitations of AI in remembering past conversations and the importance of human support networks.
Stormhaven Chronicles and Mosaic Website
Gavin discussed his website, the Stormhaven Chronicles, which explores a fictional world called N’Ume. He noted that he used AI as a creative tool in developing aspects of this world. Gavin introduced his Newham Mosaic website, a community-focused platform that outlines a plan for five seasons of workshops on Negotiating AI as a Community. He invited others to join and contribute to the site’s development.
Building a Nurturing Community Platform
Gavin discussed the metaphor of “The Wizard of Oz” to describe the community’s lack of organization, heart, and courage in institutions, emphasizing the need for change. He invited participants to join, newhamosaic.org, to collaborate on building a more nurturing environment. Desmond raised concerns about accessibility issues suggesting that future meetings on Zoom could be recorded to accommodate participants with disabilities.
AI Chat Tools Comparison Discussion
The group discussed their experiences with AI chat tools, particularly comparing free and paid versions. Janet shared that the paid version of the tool she used offered superior functionality, including faster response times and longer conversation limits, which cost approximately 20 pounds per month. Gavin provided a detailed comparison between Claude and ChatGPT, highlighting Claude’s advantages in message limits, longer context handling, and interactive features, while noting that ChatGPT offers superior image generation and voice interaction capabilities. The discussion also touched on the limitations and potential dangers of AI-generated content, with Gavin sharing an example of ChatGPT providing incorrect information before correcting itself.
AI Questions vs. Prompts
The group discussed the differences between questions and prompts when using AI, with Gavin explaining that questions typically seek information while prompts instruct the AI to generate or create something. Janet shared her experience using ChatGPT for fashion design, demonstrating how she used the AI to generate bag designs and refine them through iterative feedback. The discussion highlighted that while AI can be a powerful tool for both information retrieval and creative tasks, human input is still necessary for finalizing results.
AI Tools for Community Development
Gavin encouraged participants to register on the Newham Mosaic website and explore AI’s potential for community development, particularly in creating products and storytelling. He also mentioned upcoming sessions and the possibility of collaboration with UEL and environmental projects. The conversation ended with a demonstration of AI-generated music and a reminder of the next session on January 6th.
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What the automated notes missed
One important thread did not register clearly in the Zoom AI’s meeting summary above, and it deserves emphasis.
Gavin highlighted how Janet is already using AI productively — not just reflectively or creatively, but economically. She is using AI to enhance her capacity to produce work with real-world value.
This matters deeply.
Because the NAIC “endgame” is not only:
- richer conversations
- better organisation and coordination
- clearer thinking
It is also about economic agency.
A cognitively richer community that remains economically precarious is still vulnerable. AI has the potential — if shared, demystified, and ethically grounded — to help communities:
- create new forms of work
- increase creative productivity without exploitation
- retain value locally rather than exporting it to platforms
Janet’s practice was not a side note. It was a signal of where NAIC may go next: discovering practical pathways by which AI supports economic productivity, not just ideas.