Having recently trained as a funeral celebrant, I’ve been working with the grief curve, which readers may recognise as the change curve. It struck me that my journey with AI followed this path.

I was clearly in Denial when I initially dismissed AI as hype. It sounded like an extension of things that had been around for ages; surely it was just an evolution. But people started to say it could do things that sounded ludicrous. And when I heard that people don’t know how AI learns, it was just too scary; I didn’t want to know.

Around this time, Anger kicked in. Well, perhaps more shock and worry. Did this mean my job would disappear? If AI can write proposals, then my writing skills wouldn’t be needed. How dare it? I like writing. And I’m not quite ready to retire completely.

I realised I’d better get to grips with AI, so I started Bargaining. I read and researched AI, hoping to find some comfort. At this point, everything I read just confirmed how brilliant, how amazing AI was. Depression hit quickly as I started to feel that the revolution really was nigh and my time had come to get out.

Knowing that the change curve is rarely linear, I see now that my bargaining and depression stages interwove for a period, with smatterings of more denial and anger. But I began experimenting with ChatGPT, CoPilot and the new Grammarly AI module, with mixed results – great for helping me choose a new car, bad at suggesting improvements to my writing. The latter, probably because I didn’t want to accept that it might be helpful.

The 2024 APMP UK Conference put things into perspective. The simple idea that AI is just a tool to help us (like Word and Excel all those years ago), and that humans still have capabilities and emotions far beyond AI’s, helped me.

Since then, I have come a long way through Acceptance. I now use AI regularly for:

• Research: It helps me get up to speed quickly on new subjects by synthesising key points, such as public-sector social value strategies and associated local issues.
• Comparison: It’s great for understanding pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses. For example, the differences between two methodologies, so I can create a balanced argument for one over the other.
• Improving my writing: Yes, I will admit that I now consider, and sometimes accept, suggestions. I’m so over fighting it because sometimes, not always, it’s right.

So, am I a convert? I suppose I am. Not a particularly sophisticated one, but hopefully my journey along the curve will inspire others to take the trip.