Great Digital for Good conference 2026: AI realities
About this Event
The Great Digital for Good conference is back for 2026. Expect cross-sector collaboration, hands-on workshops, insights from your peers in world-leading impactful institutions, and actionable strategies from experts in their specialisms.
This year's theme is 'AI realities: the good, the bad, and the ugly of AI as it's used today'. We'll be exploring this decade's biggest trend (AI) from multiple viewpoints: an enthusiast's curiosity, a sceptic's eye, and a practitioner's war stories.
We've got a packed agenda designed to provide practical value to digital teams in purpose-driven orgs, focused on, but not limited to, getting value from AI whilst avoiding pitfalls.
Read the full adgenda here. Here's some highlights:
- The digital trust crisis – David Eccles, Numiko's Managing Director, explores what AI-generated answers mean for public organisations who must be the 'guardians of truth', and the responsibilities they have to the public to combat AI misinformation.
- How will AI change jobs? It's already changed ours – Digital practitioners across a range of roles: Designers, Developers, and Leaders share how AI has already transformed their roles and what they've learnt from adopting a new way of working.
- Workshop: AI realities – Interactive session led by Marie Kitney to identify your capability gaps and establish how your teams could utilise AI tools or solutions more effectively.
- AI's hidden workloads – Ash Mann draws on his experience and research to uncover the workloads AI projects can create and how to mitigate and plan for them.
- Workshop: Keeping it human – When AI isn't the right answer, how do we preserve the 'human touch'? What rules are needed around the use of AI in different areas?
- Why design still matters, even in an 'AI-first world' – Senior designer Callum Badger explains why, even in a world where AI answers replace search as the 'first port of call', well-designed web experiences remain a crucial part of the funnel.
- Unconference session – Always an attendee favourite. In this session, we'll break into groups to tackle the topics you choose in a live poll.
- Hardening your website in a world of AI-powered cyber threats – Hackers have AI tools too, making cyber attacks a matter of when, not if. In this session, experienced developers Andy Whale and Josh Hayter share how to make your site safe from these new cyber threats.
- What a hackday unlocked – Bethany Brown from the NSPCC shares how a hackday transformed their reporting and helped to energise their team.
Plus lots more talks yet to be announced...
Then last, but by no means least, we'll go to the pub!
If you haven't attended a previous conference, see our video below for a taste of what to expect. You can also read our write-up of last year's conference, which includes videos of the sessions.
https://vimeo.com/1030838578?share=copy
Agenda
🕑: 09:30 AM
Arrivals and Networking
Info: Grab a cup of tea, pop on your name badge and say hello.
🕑: 10:00 AM
The Digital Trust Crisis
Host: David Eccles
Info: David Eccles, Numiko’s Managing Director, discusses what AI-generated answers mean for
organisations that have to be the guardians of truth for the people they serve.
🕑: 10:10 AM
How will AI change jobs? It's already changed ours
Host: Catherine Warwick
Info: Catherine Warwick, Client Partnerships Lead, and Daniel Wilson, Head of Design at Numiko,
on how AI has already reshaped their day-to-day roles, for better and worse.
🕑: 10:30 AM
Beyond the hype: How public bodies and universities are really using AI
Host: Melanie Read
Info: Digital Delivery Manager Melanie Read dispenses with the usual AI handwaving to share real
examples from her career as Head of Digital at universities and public bodies.
🕑: 10:50 AM
Break
Info: Tea, coffee and chat.
🕑: 11:10 AM
Workshop: AI realities
Host: Paul Costello
Info: Paul Costello, Client Partner, and Jaron Ghani, Innovation Director at Numiko, lead a hands-on session to help you identify your team’s capability gaps and where AI could actually help
close them.
🕑: 11:50 AM
AI's hidden workloads
Host: Ash Mann
Info: Ash Mann, advisor and digital strategist for cultural organisations, talks about the extra
work AI projects create that nobody budgets for, and how to plan for it instead of getting
caught out.
🕑: 12:20 PM
Collection Dreaming for the National Gallery
Host: Lawrence Chiles
Info: Lawrence Chiles, Head of Digital Services at the National Gallery, and Jaron Ghani,
Innovation Director at Numiko, showcase National Gallery Dreaming: a dream-like journey
through around 2,400 paintings, linked by their compositions and metadata.
🕑: 12:40 PM
Lunch
Info: Sarnies and salads
🕑: 01:40 PM
Why design still matters, even in an 'AI-first' world
Host: Callum Badger
Info: Callum Badger, Senior Designer at Numiko, shows why well-designed digital experiences still
earn their place when AI is increasingly people’s first stop for information.
🕑: 02:10 PM
Unconference session
Info: Vote live on the topics you most want to dig into, then split into groups to share ideas
and experiences.
🕑: 03:10 PM
Break
Info: Tea, coffee and chat.
🕑: 03:40 PM
Hardening your website in a world of AI-powered cyber threats
Host: Andy Whale
Info: Andy Whale, Head of Back-End Development, and Josh Hayter, Lead Back-End Developer
at Numiko, give practical advice on securing your website against the new wave of AI-powered attacks.
🕑: 04:00 PM
What a hackday unlocked
Host: Bethany Brown
Info: Bethany Brown, Associate Head of Web Content at the NSPCC, and James Moore, Head of
Digital at the University of London, share how one hackday transformed a reporting system
and energised the team behind it.
🕑: 04:10 PM
Bringing the Bayeux Tapestry to life online
Host: Alison Bean
Info: Alison Bean, Website Product Manager at the British Museum, shares what she learnt from
taking the Bayeux Tapestry online, with a cutting-edge interactive that echoes the fun,
playful ‘old internet’.
🕑: 04:20 PM
SEO strategy: in search of simplicity
Host: James Dodd
Info: James Dodd, Head of Digital at Royal Holloway, unpacks how getting the basics right and
keeping a tight scope kept their new SEO strategy on track.
🕑: 04:30 PM
Closing remarks
Host: David Eccles
Info: David Eccles sums up what we've learnt.
🕑: 04:40 PM
Pub!
Info: An optional trip to the Marquis Cornwallis, 31 Marchmont Street, London WC1N 1AP, to keep the conversation going, with free drinks and nibbles courtesy of our hosting partner Upsun.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 290.00
