Ayd Instone
MSc
YSN, UKI work with leaders and organisations who accept that AI is inevitable but want to engage with it without surrendering judgement, values, or responsibility.
I speak about AI from a leadership perspective rather than a tools one.
Human Agency in the Age of AI
Most organisations know AI is coming and are already experimenting but they may be making big decisions very quickly, often without stopping to ask what should stay human, what should be automated, and who remains accountable when systems decide at scale.
My talks help leaders slow down the right decisions, speed up the safe ones, and use AI without surrendering judgement or values.
I’m not here to cheerlead new tools, nor to resist change for its own sake. My work sits upstream of adoption and implementation, where the most consequential decisions are quietly made: what counts as value, what gets optimised, and what is treated as expendable.
My background spans physics, science education, creativity, and innovation, with over 20 years spent helping people make sense of complex, abstract ideas. I hold a Master’s degree in Teaching and Learning from the University of Oxford and am currently completing a second Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence. I’ve taught physics at GCSE and A-level, worked as a creative director, and delivered keynotes and workshops for organisations including Pfizer, Bayer, the NHS, and Morrisons.
This combination matters.
It means I understand not only how AI systems work, but how people and institutions respond when powerful technologies are introduced, how incentives shift, how judgement is displaced, and how decisions made for efficiency can quietly reshape meaning, skill, and responsibility.
I don’t teach tools.
I help leaders think clearly before tools are chosen.
My talks and workshops give leaders permission to slow down some AI decisions, speed up others, question inherited metrics, and insist on human judgement, naming it as a strategic choice rather than resistance.
My work is particularly valuable for organisations who feel uneasy with the way AI is being sold, but know avoidance isn’t an option. If you’re asking not just what AI can do, but what it should be allowed to reshape, we’ll probably have a good conversation.
Trusted by organisations who value clarity over hype:
“One of the conference highlights — high credibility with a scientific audience.” — Pfizer
“Ayd channels people’s thinking in a science-driven environment, marrying science and art… exciting and thought-provoking.” — Roche
“Truly powerful and human stuff.” — NHS
“The delivery of the presentation had the perfect balance of humour and fact, giving a very informative yet light-hearted session, which kept you engaged throughout and involved the room in telling the story." — Morrison's Supermarkets
Past keynote and workshop clients include:
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals
Bayer Pharmaceuticals
NHS
Williams Medical Supplies Ltd
Morrisons Supermarkets
The Co-operative
Pepsico UK and Ireland
Organix
Salon Success
Peter Thomson International
Kings College London
Oxford Brookes University
Northampton University
Bedfordshire University
University of Hertfordshire Business School
Institute of Engineering Technology
Science and Technologies Facilities Council
Young Enterprise
Association of Clinical Data Managers
Association of Exhibition Organisers
Academy for Chief Executives
Business Link
SEED
The Young Presidents Organisation
Rotary
Human Agency in the Age of AI
Most organisations know AI is coming and are already experimenting but they may be making big decisions very quickly, often without stopping to ask what should stay human, what should be automated, and who remains accountable when systems decide at scale.
My talks help leaders slow down the right decisions, speed up the safe ones, and use AI without surrendering judgement or values.
I’m not here to cheerlead new tools, nor to resist change for its own sake. My work sits upstream of adoption and implementation, where the most consequential decisions are quietly made: what counts as value, what gets optimised, and what is treated as expendable.
My background spans physics, science education, creativity, and innovation, with over 20 years spent helping people make sense of complex, abstract ideas. I hold a Master’s degree in Teaching and Learning from the University of Oxford and am currently completing a second Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence. I’ve taught physics at GCSE and A-level, worked as a creative director, and delivered keynotes and workshops for organisations including Pfizer, Bayer, the NHS, and Morrisons.
This combination matters.
It means I understand not only how AI systems work, but how people and institutions respond when powerful technologies are introduced, how incentives shift, how judgement is displaced, and how decisions made for efficiency can quietly reshape meaning, skill, and responsibility.
I don’t teach tools.
I help leaders think clearly before tools are chosen.
My talks and workshops give leaders permission to slow down some AI decisions, speed up others, question inherited metrics, and insist on human judgement, naming it as a strategic choice rather than resistance.
My work is particularly valuable for organisations who feel uneasy with the way AI is being sold, but know avoidance isn’t an option. If you’re asking not just what AI can do, but what it should be allowed to reshape, we’ll probably have a good conversation.
Trusted by organisations who value clarity over hype:
“One of the conference highlights — high credibility with a scientific audience.” — Pfizer
“Ayd channels people’s thinking in a science-driven environment, marrying science and art… exciting and thought-provoking.” — Roche
“Truly powerful and human stuff.” — NHS
“The delivery of the presentation had the perfect balance of humour and fact, giving a very informative yet light-hearted session, which kept you engaged throughout and involved the room in telling the story." — Morrison's Supermarkets
Past keynote and workshop clients include:
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals
Bayer Pharmaceuticals
NHS
Williams Medical Supplies Ltd
Morrisons Supermarkets
The Co-operative
Pepsico UK and Ireland
Organix
Salon Success
Peter Thomson International
Kings College London
Oxford Brookes University
Northampton University
Bedfordshire University
University of Hertfordshire Business School
Institute of Engineering Technology
Science and Technologies Facilities Council
Young Enterprise
Association of Clinical Data Managers
Association of Exhibition Organisers
Academy for Chief Executives
Business Link
SEED
The Young Presidents Organisation
Rotary
