Behind the scenes

A venue isn’t just the space where you hold an event or an activity – it’s part of the planning about how the session will run. A good venue will enhance the experience of participants and that likely benefits what you get out of it too. A poorly selected venue can be a barrier to engagement – if people even come at all. At CONNECTED by DATA we’ve tried to be intentional in our venue selection for every in person event or activity we’ve hosted (or in fact even if it is in person or online and where online…more on that later).

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Between July 2025 and April 2026, as part of our project to build worker power to shape public sector AI, Connected by Data and the TUC worked with nine education unions on an action learning programme to test how to catalyse the union movement’s capacity to understand, negotiate and advocate on AI.

This work threw up several lessons that apply more generally to the adoption of AI across the public sector – the risks and benefits; the challenges and opportunities; and the roles that workers can and should play in AI’s development, deployment and evaluation – which I’ve thrown together into this listicle.

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When I set up Connected by Data, I also stated my intention that this organisation would have a maximum lifespan of 3-5 years. We are now at the end of our fourth year, which means we have at maximum one more year to go.

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Addressing the complex issues surrounding AI at work can be challenging. It touches on personal experiences, professional roles, and charged political views on Big Tech. It often involves vague or technical terminology. It’s a topic that many employers will see as their ‘management prerogative’ and out of scope for collective bargaining or even worker consultation.

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