Adaptive Ecosystem Intelligence
AI is transforming how information is organised, accessed, and analysed across complex networks.
Community Lab integrates AI capability into platform infrastructure to enhance operational visibility, accelerate insight extraction, and improve decision support across ecosystems.
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Scalable AI
AI is reshaping coordination.
We make it deliver impact.
Our AI work focuses on three applied disciplines that move beyond hype and experimentation.
1.
Applied Research and Systems Understanding
Rather than chasing novelty, we focus on understanding where AI creates genuine leverage in ecosystem delivery, coordination, and decision-making, and where it does not.
This includes interrogating assumptions, constraints, and unintended consequences so that AI use remains grounded, practical, and aligned with real-world delivery.
2.
AI Product Development
Capability only emerges through implementation.
We invest design and development capacity into contained AI initiatives that integrate directly with the Community Lab platform, focused on reducing coordination overhead and increasing signal clarity across ecosystems.
3.
AI Governance and Policy Literacy
Effective AI adoption requires fluency in emerging regulatory and policy contexts.
We build internal capability to engage with AI governance discussions so that platform design remains compliant, defensible, and suitable for institutional and public sector use.
This ensures AI functionality can be deployed confidently across regulated environments.
From Exploration to Application
In September 2023, we launched our first experimental AI product on Community Lab: AskAngus (beta).
Rather than querying the open web, AskAngus analyses public platform content to surface relevant information already embedded within an ecosystem.
Crucially, all outputs maintain source attribution, preserving traceability and trust.
Active AI Projects
Some of the AI projects we've been working on.
Since January 2023, we have focused on integrating generative AI into ecosystem infrastructure in ways that strengthen delivery rather than distract from it.
Connecting Business Support and Funding Infrastructure
Support landscapes are fragmented and difficult to navigate.
We've been working directly with business support professionals to translate their understanding of the landscape into scalable AI-powered pathways that point people in the right direction.
Third Sector AI Research Symposium
Many charities and voluntary organisations face barriers to meaningful AI adoption.
We convened a focused research initiative to understand constraints, risks, and realistic adoption pathways, ensuring AI capability does not concentrate solely in well-resourced institutions.
Navigating Complex Ecosystems
Community Lab hosts thousands of users, hundreds of workspaces, and extensive shared resources.
Instead of attention-driven algorithms, we apply AI to surface underutilised assets, reveal cross-cluster connections, and reduce siloed operation across ecosystems.
Enriching Online Learning Experiences
Community Lab is used by many organisations to deliver structured learning and development.
AI supports facilitators by identifying connections between curated learning assets and live ecosystem activity, accelerating sense-making and applied learning.
Efficient and Responsible Infrastructure
AI workloads carry infrastructure costs that quickly make services go from exciting to unafordable.
We prioritise efficiency, optimisation, and responsible hosting choices to ensure AI capability scales without unnecessary environmental or financial overhead.
Check whether your business is a Verified Green Hosting Provider here.
AskAngus: Operational AI in Practice
AskAngus was launched in September 2023 as our first embedded AI capability.
It analyses public ecosystem content to improve discovery, reduce duplication, and surface relevant signals.
All outputs remain source-linked to maintain accountability and trust.
Principles are not about restriction. They exist to anchor decisions and measure whether progress still reflects intent.
Listen To People
AI should address real coordination and delivery challenges experienced by ecosystem facilitators and operators.
Crawl Before You Run
AI capability is introduced incrementally, tested in live environments, and refined based on evidence rather than hype.
Protect Creativity
AI is used to amplify human facilitation and sense-making, not to replace judgement, relationships, or expertise.
Beware of Black Boxes
All AI outputs must remain interpretable and traceable so facilitators can understand, trust, and challenge results.
With AI evolving at such a fast rate, it's easy for organisations to hide in the shadows or exploit the chaos to make questionable choices.
Not us. We encourage you to download our manifesto as a static record and hold us accountable if we drift from our guiding principles.