Kia ora, Welcome!

Welcome to the first issue of AI-mpowered, brought to you by CoLab.

This weekly newsletter delivers straight to your inbox snappy AI insights, prompt ideas, light-hearted roasts, and innovative tools to help revolutionise your work.

My goal is to inform, entertain, and inspire you, helping you stay ahead in what has become a fast-paced evolving field.

In each issue, you'll discover bite-sized content focused on AI advancements, creative applications in planning, and ground-breaking solutions.

Feel free to share AI-mpowered with others who might enjoy and benefit from these insights. I’ll soon be launching a referral programme with prizes and bonus content.

Thank you for embarking on this journey with me, and I hope AI-mpowered becomes a weekly must-read resource.

Best,

Daniel Kinnoch
CoLab

Embracing AI in Urban Planning – Recap of NZPI Auckland/Northland Branch Webinar

On Wednesday, 5th April, we presented a webinar on AI in planning to over 300 planning professionals through the New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI).

During the webinar, we talked about the potential of AI-powered tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney to innovate various aspects of resource management planning, from data analysis and decision-making to stakeholder engagement and communication.

We also discussed real-life use cases and experiences that illustrate the value of embracing AI in our industry.

If you missed the webinar, don't worry! Just enrol, then go back to the same page, scroll down to the bottom and the video will be available for you to watch now, or at a time that suits you.

If your organisation is interested in more bespoke training on the use of ChatGPT and specific use cases relevant to your roles or jobs, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

We are committed to helping planning professionals learn about and harness the power of AI to make a meaningful impact in the field of resource management planning.

Here is a selection of tools and calculators designed to make resource management planning tasks more efficient and accurate - and they’re all 100% built or powered using GPT:

• Height in Relation to Boundary (HIRB) Calculator: Determine compliance with district plan rules for height in relation to boundary with ease. Try it now

• Alternative Height in Relation to Boundary (AHIRB) Calculator: Tailored for the Auckland Unitary Plan, quickly determine compliance for MHU, MHU, or THAB zones. Give it a go

• Gradient Converter: Swiftly convert between percentage and ratio for district plan rules, transport considerations, or slope analysis. Start converting

• Slope over Distance Calculator: Determine the slope of a line with just two points, simplifying your calculations. Calculate now

• Ramp Compliance Calculator: Assess ramp proposals' compliance with Auckland Unitary Plan Standard E27.6.4.4(2) for gradient change limits. Check compliance

• Summarise a Submission using AI (Beta): Leverage GPT-3.5-Turbo AI technology to generate plan change or resource consent submission summaries. Test it out

You can use GPT technology to create tools like these for your own organisation, even without any coding skills (though they help!)

ChatGPT Prompt of the Week: Drafting Non-Standard Resource Consent Conditions

We'll provide you with an example prompt each week that you can use with ChatGPT.

This week’s prompt helps you draft non-standard resource consent conditions and accompanying advice notes. We then provide an example output demonstrating how AI can assist in crafting tailored conditions that adhere to specific requirements.

Note that the instructions are specific to Auckland but can be tweaked based on local drafting practices.

Example prompt:

Instructions: 
  1. Write an example resource consent condition that requires a consent holder to [explain requirements here]. Include an advice note that explains the purpose of the condition, which is to [explain here].
  2. Any references to the regulatory authority should be to 'the council'.
  3. Use 'must' instead of 'shall'.
  4. Use 'certified by the council' instead of 'approved'.
  5. Explain step by step after the draft condition is written why it meets Newbury principals.

Here is an example output from this prompt:

Introducing AI-mpact: A New AI-focused Group in PlanTechNZ

AI-mpact is new group that has been created within the NZPI PlanTechNZ Special Interest Group community.

This group will be dedicated to exploring the potential use cases of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) models in resource management planning in New Zealand.

AI-mpact aims to investigate innovative applications for RMA planning, streamlined processes, and enhanced decision-making.

We encourage all NZPI members with a passion for emerging technology to join AI-mpact, contribute their expertise, and engage in thought-provoking conversations.

To be added to the list, please email [email protected] with "AI-mpact" in the subject line.

AI Roast of the Week

Each week, we’re going to include in this newsletter something funny ('roast' section). We’ll try to keep it light-hearted and focused on general planning-related topics rather than targeting specific individuals or organisations - we’re all friends here!

The End (for now)

Thank you for joining us for the first issue of AI-mpowered. We hope you found the content valuable and inspiring.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it with others who might also be interested in what we’re covering here.

We would also love to hear your feedback and suggestions for future newsletter topics.

If you have any specific prompts you'd like to learn about or new tools and resources you would like access to, please don't hesitate to let us know.

We leave you with this AI-generated meme, of life before ChatGPT (at least for us…)