Two years after joining Magenta Living as a board member I ended up as their CFO. Shortly after that, I was given the job of leading our response to AI. In June 2025 I admit I knew next to nothing, but it’s amazing what you can learn in 6 months when you put your mind to it. Having just completed an AI Mastery course at Wirral AI Academy and spent time at Amazon’s HQ with the Disruptive Innovator’s Network, talking (and listening) to local experts, practicing my prompt engineering skills and watching lots of YouTube videos, I’m now ready to unleash my opinions on the finance community.

AI is unlike anything any of us have ever faced before. We’re used to an ever-increasing pace of change, but this is on another scale. Did you know that professionals in this area now refer to GOFAI (Good Old-Fashioned AI)? Most of us haven’t started consciously using it yet but some of it is now seen as old fashioned. Want to see how far behind we are? Copy and paste this into your browser

Prompt: Reflections in the window of a train traveling through the Tokyo suburbs.

None of what you see is real and was all created just through that prompt. And we’re chuffed that Co-Pilot can minute our meetings…

Now, don’t get me wrong, we don’t want to be anywhere near the leading edge of this stuff as the risks are enormous, but how do we get on the front foot? How do you lead on something that nobody in the organisation really understands and changes on a weekly basis?

It’s going to be really easy to lock everything down, stop people accessing AI, and wait to see what happens, but I think that is as problematic as being on the leading edge.

The problem for us is that AI is not a distinct thing. It’s not like putting in a new finance system, where you spec it, go out to tender, implement and then use. Start to finish takes you a year and only really matters to the finance department. This is in everything. Every department, every job, every task can be affected and the pace at which it will change is increasing. To quote Dr Guy Marshall – this is as slow as it gets.

So how do you provide leadership in these circumstances? At Magenta, we took the decision to get on the front foot. We worked with the Wirral Chamber of Commerce and PAIR, helped to establish the Wirral AI Academy and began sending cohorts of staff on the course. We have 57 people enrolled at different levels. This group ensures we have strong governance, and we focus on the customer, solving specific problems. They act as promoters and controls within teams and keep an eye on what’s going on.

Want to find out more? We’ll be discussing it at the Housing Finance conference on the 25-26 March at their new Data and AI Forum.

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The Housing Finance Conference 2026 is introducing something truly transformative: the Data and AI Forum. This dynamic stream dives into how artificial intelligence and data are reshaping the financial landscape. Expect practical insights on smarter decision-making, boosting efficiencies, and harnessing technology to create real impact for residents. With data demands soaring, this is your chance to sharpen your expertise, lead with confidence, and drive meaningful change across your organisation. If you’re ready to embrace innovation, this is the forum you can’t afford to miss.