64 INTERVIEW Shaping the future of work Gary Keene, head of AV for University of the Arts London, discusses the benefits of AI, cybersecurity, sustainability and cost-effective solutions for the workforce BY ALICE CHAMBERS “ AI is transforming AV technology through innovations that enhance collaboration, maintenance, security and sustainability” The Smart Workplace Summit, hosted at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2025, will bring together experts from the systems integration and audiovisual (AV) industries to discuss technologies and solutions for distributed workforces. Gary Keene, head of AV for the University of the Arts London, and chair of the summit, addresses some of the key themes he will discuss at the event. Which artificial intelligence-driven tools do you think will have the greatest impact on workforce efficiency? AI-powered tools that reduce manual effort, increase speed and accuracy, and provide data-driven insights to optimise operations are likely to have the largest impact in the shortterm by delivering scalable marginal gains at little or no cost. The areas where they will have the most impact include analysing historical and real-time data to forecast future trends, identify risks and optimise operational decisions around staffing and inventory management. Other benefits include using conversational AI to create chatbots and virtual agents that can handle customer service and employee support tasks; automating repetitive, rules-based back-office processes with intelligent process automation; and making information more accessible and actionable for employees with natural language processing. What challenges do organisations face in securing increasingly connected AV systems and how can they balance their security with their performance? Many AV systems run embedded operating systems and software with known security flaws, making them vulnerable to threat actors. Connected AV devices often lack strong authentication, authorisation and encryption, which exposes them to exploits related to the internet of things. Other challenges include remote management risks, siloed AV systems that complicate policy enforcement and hidden vulnerabilities in the supply chain. To address these, organisations should implement a zero-trust architecture and verify all users, devices and connections. A centralised unified endpoint management (UEM) platform enforces security policies across the AV infrastructure. Integration with extended detection and response platforms enables realtime threat detection, while network microsegmentation isolates AV systems to limit threats. Regular device posture checks ensure compliance with security baselines. Lastly, training users on security best practices is essential for maintaining a strong security posture. What steps can companies take to evaluate and reduce the environmental impact of their AV solutions? The first step in creating sustainable AV systems is performing a lifecycle assessment to measure environmental impacts across raw
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