Used at
The Bentway
The organization
Research & background gathering
for Research & DevelopmentA jumping-off point: staff ask chatbots to synthesize unfamiliar subjects — materials, precedents, plant names, artist practices — then verify with their own research before relying on any of it.
The tools
ChatGPT · Gemini · Perplexity
The tools staff named
The system
The system understands and recommends, and a person decides what to do next.
A person decidesData flow
your questions and rough notes
Generated content
about materials, artists, sites and precedents
↓
a synthesis of sources it does not cite
Search & Retrieval
↓
a starting point — not an answer
A recommendation or prediction
cross-referenced before staff rely on it
Risks staff flagged
Confident but unsourced
Answers arrive with no source and no context — and are sometimes treated as if they were binding. Staff have seen chatbot pay figures presented as fact.
How it's managedStaff practice: cross-reference everything — which can cost as much time as the task would have taken unaided.
Outsourcing judgement
The worry that the starting point quietly becomes the answer — a person no longer making the final decision, verifying the information, or applying their own judgement.
How it's managedA tool, not a substitute: AI offers assistance, and review of the work stays necessary.
What the questions reveal
Queries about artists, partners and plans flow to vendors, with no guidance on what is safe to ask.
!No safeguard in place yet
Who it touches
Staff who build on what it returns
Wider community
8 of 18 staff use AI this way
You can
Ask how it knows — answers come unsourced — always ask for the trail
Verification is the job — nothing is relied on unchecked
Questions or concerns — bring them to the Sept 2 workshop
What staff told us
8 staffHow oftenIn a typical month, how often do you use AI tools for work?
323
NeverRarelyA few times a monthA few times a weekDaily
Trust in own useWhen you use AI at work, how confident are you that you’re using it appropriately?
413
Not confidentRarely sureSometimes sureMostly sureAlways sure
Time saved / weekRoughly how much time do you estimate AI saves you in a typical week?6 answered
411
NoneUnder 1 h1–3 h4–7 h7 h +
Comfort disclosingWould you feel comfortable telling a colleague or your manager that you used AI on a piece of work?
125
Would hide itProbably notIt dependsProbablyOpenly yes
Each cell is one answer choice — the deeper the colour, the more responses gave it · the pointer under the bar marks the median
What staff described Described as a jumping-off point that puts staff on the right track for their own research — not the research itself.