Human + AI: Evolving Community Insights Toolkit

We’ve been thinking a lot lately about how technology fits into our community work. At Belong in Plymouth, we're exploring ways AI can support—but never replace—the human side of processing conversations.

Karen Pilkington captured it well: 'Never rely on AI, never rely on one human voice either.' That’s why we’re trialling a pattern recognition model, trained on existing data, to help us spot themes more quickly while keeping decisions grounded in human insight.

There’s already a mountain of rich material. 'Juliette has been working hard to process the backlog of conversations—now over 400 fragments,' one meeting note shared. And with this volume, we’re asking: how can tech help? J has been testing gated AI systems with all the necessary privacy checks in place.

We’re also playing with new ideas for engagement. Simon Sherbersky wondered: 'What if we gamified the experience—using role cards, conversation starter cards, action cards?' It’s a way to spark interest and deepen interaction without forcing a rigid process.

Thematic workshops are emerging too. As Matt Bell noted: 'Matt also wants to dedicate a whole conversation processing workshop on mental health...Karen explained 2 existing groups in city expressing interest—ageing and mental health. Jane said Transport Poverty, Green and Blue Spaces, Impact on Refugees are key areas of work for Plymouth City Council.'

We’re blending the digital with the human, not to automate empathy—but to amplify it.