With AI fast becoming a core tool in the workplace, automating repetitive tasks for many and serving as thinking partners for some, concerns also arise as to the efficient and effective use of AI applications to augment human capabilities in the workplace and beyond.
On 11 April, we engaged Kevin Farley, an AI trainer and consultant, to host an informational workshop for 18 HSBC Scholars and four FSI staff on the language of Large Language Models (LLMs), why AI matters in their careers, how AI can be used in career applications, as well as the risks, integrity, and professional standards when it comes to AI applications.
Treating AI As An Assistant
With experience in delivering AI workshops to clients in Taiwan, Canada, South Africa, and the UK, helping people save time, reduce frustration, and move from idea to AI execution faster, Kevin kickstarted the workshop by teaching HSBC Scholars and Hub for the Future community members how to set up their personal Gemini profiles, to ensure more tailored responses from Gemini as it remembers preferences and past queries as well as accessing data across Google apps.
Mindful about AI as a powerful tool encompassing areas from work task execution to personal schedule planning, Kevin stressed the importance of treating AI as assistants or interns to augment the users’ capabilities.
“Think about what information you would share with your interns on the first day of work,” prompted Kevin. “This could include their role in the team, what to be aware of and avoid, such as relevant policies and regulations. With the appropriate prompts and input, AI would be able to generate the information you need.”
HSBC Scholars Using A Gemini Custom AI Assistant to Refine and Review CVs
Next, Kevin demonstrated ways to create prompts for the AI to think from the perspectives of a career coach and a recruiter, in order to help HSBC Scholars and Hub members refine their own CVs.
By providing HSBC Scholars and Hub members with a guide on writing and refining CVs, Kevin enabled them to tailor and rate the CV with the help of a “Gem” – a Gemini custom AI expert for specific tasks.
“The prompts can provide an analysis of the CV, flag any gaps, and highlight any skills on the CV that would be helpful to proceed to the next round of assessment to a specific job application,” instructed Kevin. With Kevin’s tips on what to include and avoid when writing AI prompts, HSBC Scholars and Hub members tested out and practiced using these prompts on the CVs.
To equip HSBC Scholars and Hub members with the AI skills for their career planning, Kevin guided them on creating personalized Gems that can be used outside of CV writing and job applications, specific to their professional needs, while highlighting that with the suitable prompts, AI can provide assistance to repetitive tasks and enhance efficiency. With that, HSBC Scholars and Hub members went on to create their own Gems and tested them out to see if they were suitable for the purpose.
Kevin also shared a prompt library with HSBC Scholars and Hub members that can be used on AI tools to avoid any hallucinations and ensure a certain level of accuracy, such as editing the original prompt, and prompting AI to ask questions to clarify on the task before proceeding to the next steps.
Concluding the workshop, Kevin introduced other useful AI tools, such as Notebook LM, Beaver, and Granola, that can be helpful to the HSBC Scholars’ personal and professional development.
An Educational AI Workshop Supporting HSBC Scholars’ Personal and Professional Growth
The AI workshop proved immensely useful for the participating HSBC Scholars and HUB members.
Said Hubert Wong, recipient of the 2023 HSBC Hong Kong Scholarship: “I got useful tips on how to improve the effectiveness of my prompts, as the workshop provided a useful framework for prompting. My biggest takeaway was the ‘ask me first’ strategy, which forces AI to ask me clarifying questions. This improves the quality of the response and makes it more consistent with what I expect.”
“I really enjoyed the workshop because it helped me learn more about different types of AI,” said Natalie Ng, recipient of the 2022 HSBC Greater Bay Area Scholarship. “Since AI is an inevitable trend, this workshop was very meaningful.”
“I learned how to actually maximize the use of AI, and avoid common mistakes like trusting their response without any verification or without counterthinking,” said Zach Koo, recipient of the 2021 HSBC Vocational Education Scholarship.
Said Pui Kwan Lam, recipient of the 2024 HSBC Vocational Education Scholarship: “I used to get very frustrated trying to use AI for daily tasks, but this training section taught me useful skills to use AI more efficiently now. The workshop was organized well, and the content selection is perfect. I learned a lot and feel more confident in using AI to help with job seeking.”
As the secretariat of the HSBC Scholarship Scheme and the coordinator for Hub for the Future – a community of past and current recipients of HSBC Scholarships – Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI) works to transform the Hub community into a force for good. Since July 2024, we have provided the Hub community with opportunities for mentorship, leadership development, skills acquisition, and community service activities. Learn more about our youth empowerment work here.
