At Leeds Digital Festival 2025, Jaywing hosted two sessions exploring how humans and AI work together. ‘The Agent’ focused on the power of automation, while ‘The Empath’ looked at the importance of human insight. Together, they highlighted how technology and creativity continue to shape the digital world. Read on to find the key learnings and insights in this Leeds Digital Festival 2025 Recap.
We kicked off with Jaywing’s UX Specialist, Chris Callaghan, delivering an insightful session: ’Staying Human, By Design: Customer Experience in the Age of AI,’ followed by our Data Science Strategy Director, Malcolm Clifford and Head of Research and Development, Joe Crawforth, bringing their extensive knowledge and expertise in the field of AI into their session: ’The Agent Advantage: Putting AI to Work While Your Competitors Talk’.
Step inside our two sold-out Leeds Digital Festival events with the official highlights video:
This interactive session attracted marketers from major brands including Sky, HM Treasury, Jet2, Santander and Yorkshire Water.
Chris began by posing a question for the audience:
Which holiday would you prefer?
With 95% of the room opting for the latter, he highlighted a core marketing challenge: while seamless experiences are important, it’s the memorable moments that build lasting brand loyalty.
Chris cautioned against the rush to automate, warning of the danger of “offloading empathy.” When efficiency tops genuine connection, customer satisfaction can plummet. The solution is to use AI to elevate human expertise, not to replace it.
This practical approach resonated. As attendee Tom Paget, Head of UX at Santander, commented:
“This is probably the first presentation I’ve been to about AI which actually had some practical solutions about how to embed it into research practice and use it in a really pragmatic way”.
The takeaway was clear: in the race to innovate, deep human understanding remains the ultimate advantage.
Our experts showed attendees from brands including the BBC, Miro and Higher Education institutions the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University, how to move beyond today’s chatbots to the next leap forward: Agentic AI.
Malcolm and Joe explained how active AI agents can move from simply suggesting actions to autonomously executing them to achieve business goals. Think of it as the difference between asking AI to “draft an email” versus instructing it to “convert that prospect.”
They demonstrated how accessible no-code platforms allow teams to secure high-impact “quick wins.” This resonated with attendees, including Jeffery Daniel, who said:
“I love that there’s no code options that are available for people to get those ‘quick wins’… I think that’s an insight that I am definitely going to take away.”
From this event, it was evident that the agentic advantage offers a tangible way to automate tasks and boost performance, provided an expert remains in the loop.
Both events were informative and valuable, showcasing how Jaywing seamlessly integrates data science expertise with brilliant creative thinking and practical application.
▶️ Get access to the full presentation from The Agent Advantage
▶️ Read our highlights from Staying Human, by Design
This article was originally published on Jaywing’s official website and replicated with permission.