Much of what was being said about AI yesterday no longer makes sense today. The same will happen tomorrow with what is being said today. A technology on everyone’s lips and advancing at breakneck speed.

In this fast-paced landscape, it is necessary to make sense of technology. Alex Keyter (Southampton, 1997), founder of Generative Minds, talks to us about “AI for Good”, a concept that sees AI as a tool to empower people and create a positive impact on the world.

Alex studied Spanish and German at Cardiff University and landed in Binéfar (Huesca), where he worked as an English teacher. Until three years ago, when he embarked on the journey of entrepreneurship: “today is my rebirth”, as his favourite artist, Kase.O, a fellow Aragonese (of course), puts it.

TB: What is the purpose of your project?

AK: Generative Minds aims to ensure that nobody gets left behind in the age of AI. We do this by educating others to use emerging technologies to support their growth as entrepreneurs, researchers and leaders.

TB: What stage is the project at, and where do you see yourself in two years?

AK: Generative Minds has been running for 3 and a half years and has delivered AI workshops and training to over 1000 people. Over the next two years, we aim to expand the project to deliver ‘AI for Enterprise’ programs across the UK and wider parts of the world, in collaboration with partners who aim to address socio-economic inequality through business and technology education. The hope is to enable democratised access to opportunity for as many people as possible.

TB: What has been the biggest challenge you have faced, and what has it taught you?

AK: One of the biggest challenges for me as a first time solo founder has been learning to manage the expectations I set between myself and my clients, and knowing how to manage my own personal capacity to deliver. I am, like a lot of founders I imagine, always trying my best to help my customers to succeed. However, since I don’t have anyone else in the business to help me evaluate the time that scope changes, new ideas or new opportunities might take, I find it easy to overcommit or overwork myself. The lesson here has been to bring other people along for support whenever it is possible to do so, and to also make sure that I weigh up new opportunities properly before taking them on.

TB: What is the best advice you have ever received?

AK: “Feel the fear and do it anyway” – there are many occasions where it can feel like you do not know if you are capable of getting through a situation but this is often not the case. We are capable and powerful beyond measure, but we must believe ourselves to be so.

TB: Have you changed your mind about anything over time?

AK: I used to believe that just having awareness of / access to tools (like AI) was enough to enable people to start taking actions to solve the challenges that they face. Over time it has become clear to me that this is not the case. Our tools are only instruments that must be used within a shared community of practice, and it is often the case that the real barrier to solving problems is being able to clearly communicate and define the specific challenge we are trying to solve and the ways that we can work together to solve them.

TB: Who is a professional role model who inspires you, and why?

AK: One of my professional role models is Nick Murray, who runs TecTonic Night Summit, a tech ecosystem meetup event that runs in Glasgow, Scotland. Nick is the embodiment of a stoic leader, who delights in bringing good people and ideas together. Nick inspires me to take a broader and more balanced perspective on how my work can change communities, economies and the lives of others for the better.

TB: What do you value most in the people you work with?

AK: I am always grateful for people that approach work from a place of optimism and abundance. People who recognise that we are here for the mutual co-creation of value and that we can often reach better, synergistic solutions to challenges by exploring our combined best practice.

TB: A technology that will shape the future.

AK: I believe that Air Fryers will continue to be adopted as the primary form of cooking appliance within the kitchen (because they’re really useful!).

TB: A startup or company you admire, and why.

AK: I have utmost respect for Cap.so an open source Loom alternative which has been built/ is managed by one person and yet still provides a phenomenal level of customer support.

TB: What do you do to disconnect?

AK: I really enjoy going on long walks in nature (forest, beach, mountain) and above all I love to run.

TB: A book to recommend

AK: I recently read ‘Sunrise on the reaping’ by Suzanne Collins which I thoroughly enjoyed, despite the sadness of that dystopian world.

TB: A song that defines your moment in life.

AK: ‘Renacimiento’ by Kase.O speaks to the time that I decided to leave my previous job as a languages teacher and find a new path. It’s also a song that helps me stay grounded and has supported me to come out of my head in some difficult situations.

TB: A recipe, a meal, a restaurant.

AK: A top tier recipe has to be BBC Good Food’s Banana Bread .One of my favourite meals is Lasagne. And a restaurant that I quite enjoy (despite being a chain) is La tagliatella.

TB: A place in the world.

AK: Binéfar, Huseca, the Spanish town that adopted me as their only native English teacher.

TB: Where would you invest 100k?

AK: I would put it into AI enabled infrastructure for community wealth building – tools that bring people together and enable them to support one another.

TB: If you weren’t an entrepreneur…

AK: If I weren’t an entrepreneur I think I’d still want to work around entrepreneurs to support them with their ideas. Maybe I would get a job at Tech Barcelona so that I could spend more time with you awesome people!

TB: What does Tech Barcelona mean to you?

AK: Tech Barcelona is a home away from home for me as a tech founder. It’s a place where I can meet like minded entrepreneurs and innovators, and it’s a place where I can make genuine connections with people who are passionate about pushing the frontiers of technology for good.