ABOUT | AI Action Lab

ABOUT AI ACTION LAB

The AI Action lab is a roll-up-your-sleeves work session built for manufacturers, trades, heavy industry, and other “real economy” businesses. Instead of keynote speeches and buzzwords, this Lab is organized around four practical tracks that mirror how you actually run your business:

Tell People What We’ll Do

AI for marketing, quoting, and customer education
Turning tribal knowledge into clear, repeatable messaging and proposals

Agree on What We’ll Do

AI-assisted scoping, estimating, and contract generation
Reducing risk and misalignment between customers, field teams, and management

Do It

AI tools that support planning, scheduling, safety checks, and on-the-job guidance
Helping workers do more, faster, with fewer mistakes without replacing them

Get Paid

Automating billing, collections, and reporting while preserving audit and compliance
Linking field work, job costing, and finance so the numbers always match the work

The AI Action Lab is where workers, business owners, integrators, and investors meet in the same room to design a future where AI works for people, not against them.

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Why this event is important now?

Blue-collar and industrial businesses are under pressure – labor shortages, aging workforces, and rising expectations from customers. AI can help, but only if it respects the people doing the work.

Most AI events aren’t built for the shop floor. They’re built for software companies and tech buyers, not plant managers, foremen, or owners who still live in spreadsheets and clipboards.

Human-centric AI is a competitive advantage. Companies that use AI to augment their workforce—capturing know-how from senior workers, guiding new hires, and removing busywork—will retain talent, reduce errors, and build stronger customer relationships.

Investors and integrators need to see where the real demand is. The Lab puts the people who do the work at the center of design, exposing real pain points and real opportunities—without the hype.

What actually happens in the room?

This is NOT a sit down and listen conference. This is a day of four "micro-hackathons" where users, integrators, investors - anyone who is looking to solve a REAL problem - collaborate with providers in real time to create working AI solutions for each phase of business.

Live team builds: Real companies bring real problems. Vendors, developers, and integrators sit with them to sketch solutions, build prototypes, and demo working flows before the end of each session.

Guidance, safety, and responsibility insight: Experts in AI safety, law, and operations challenge each build there in the room: Is it safe? Fair? Understandable to the crew using it?

Take-home artifacts: Each company has the ability to leave with:
- Prototype workflows or tools based on demos
- Draft internal AI use policies and design guidelines
- A prioritized roadmap for “what to do next Monday,” not “someday”

Bring Your Laptop, Come Ready to Work

9:30–10:00 AM - Arrival & Light Refreshments

Guest check-in, coffee, and informal networking to set the tone for the day.

10:00–10:20 AM - Welcome, Mini-Hack Ground Rules, and Idea Boards

Brief welcome, ground rules for how each Mini-Hack works, then an Idea Board session where you shout out the problems you want someone to address and build a solution for during each Mini-Hack.

10:20–11:30 AM - Micro-Demo by Presenting Sponsor morriganAI

A demonstration of morriganAI's Crow product allowing organizations to detect shadow AI use within their teams.

11:30–12:30 - Micro-Hack: Tell People What We'll Do

This is all about marketing - how do you quickly make agents tell your story, ingest new data, or do anything cool that AI can do.

12:30–1:30 PM - Micro-Hack: Agree on What We'll Do

Paper up - how to make sure you land work quicker using AI tools.

1:30–2:30 PM - Micro-Hack: Do It

Get 'er done... one stop shop for all things efficiency - where can AI really help your team, and what does that help look like in your business.

2:30–3:30 PM - Micro-Hack: Get Paid

The Brass Tacks... learn to leverage AI when solving payment issues like billing, collections, and compliance.

3:30 - 4:15PM - Full Day Take Aways

Share exciting new findings or important policy notes that help the larger group

4:15–4:30 PM - Card Swap, Phone Bump, and Get Out

Final insights, key takeaways, and an overview of post-event resources, follow-up opportunities, and continued collaboration.

4:30–7:00 PM - After-hours networking

You built with the best, come party with the best - Midwest style at the Sky Ride Tap!