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Trust but Verify: Using AI for Small-Business Research

Trust but Verify: Using AI for Small-Business Research

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 (10:00 AM - 12:00 PM) (CDT)

Description

In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore how AI can support business research, learning, and problem-solving while also examining the limitations, assumptions, and risks that come with AI-generated information. Participants will practice evaluating outputs, identifying red flags, validating claims, and determining what makes AI-generated research genuinely useful in a real-world business context. 

Throughout the session, we will: 

  • Explore a practical framework for assessing whether an AI-generated output is credible, useful, and appropriate for business decision-making. 
  • Compare traditional business research methods with AI-assisted research to better understand the strengths, gaps, assumptions, and tradeoffs of each approach. 
  • Learn how AI can help entrepreneurs quickly understand unfamiliar concepts, current events, technical topics, regulations, and business terminology — especially when they need a fast starting point for learning. 
  • Examine high-profile AI failures and breakdowns to better understand how hallucinations, weak sourcing, bias, flawed assumptions, and automation errors occur. 
  • Practice reviewing sample AI outputs to identify unsupported claims, vague sourcing, misleading statistics, overgeneralizations, and hidden assumptions. 
  • Learn lateral reading and research validation techniques to fact-check AI-generated information and trace claims back to credible sources. 
  • Discuss when AI is an appropriate tool for a business problem — and when another approach may be more effective. 
  • Apply these concepts to realistic business examples and a possible photography-industry case study focused on market research and decision-making. 

Rather than treating AI as a replacement for expertise, this session focuses on how entrepreneurs can use AI thoughtfully as a research assistant, brainstorming partner, and learning tool while remaining the decision-maker and “human in the loop.” 

Pricing

Free. REGISTER HERE.

Virtual - Zoom
Event Contact
Stephanie Achten
(608) 263-2221
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Wednesday, October 21, 2026 (10:00 AM - 12:00 PM) (CDT)
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