The Chamber of Commerce Hawaii is bringing hands-on AI training directly to small business owners and entrepreneurs, with a workshop scheduled for September 29 that will teach practical applications of leading AI tools including NotebookLM, ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Gemini. The four-hour session, held in partnership with PICHTR at Pacific Guardian Center's Makai Tower Conference Room, aims to help local businesses move beyond AI hype and into real-world implementation.

The workshop reflects a broader shift in how businesses are approaching artificial intelligence. Rather than treating AI as a distant future technology, companies and organizations are now focused on immediate, practical applications that can streamline operations and improve efficiency. For Hawaii's business community, this workshop represents an opportunity to gain hands-on experience with tools that are already reshaping how work gets done across industries.

What Will Participants Learn at the Hawaii AI Workshop?

The interactive session is designed as a working workshop where participants will actively use AI tools throughout the morning, rather than sitting through traditional lectures. Led by Ian Kitajima, President and CEO of PICHTR and a Chamber board member known locally as Hawaii's "Tech Sherpa," the workshop will guide attendees through real-world workflows they can implement immediately in their businesses.

Participants will gain practical experience across several key business functions. The workshop will cover how to use AI for content creation, business planning, automation, and brainstorming. Attendees will work with multiple platforms and learn ready-to-use prompts and workflows that can be deployed right away.

How to Use AI Tools for Your Small Business

• Marketing and Communications: Create marketing content, emails, and social media posts in minutes using AI writing assistants, reducing the time spent on routine communication tasks.
• Business Development: Brainstorm business ideas, products, and services with AI tools that can help generate creative concepts and explore market opportunities quickly.
• Planning and Documentation: Develop business plans, proposals, presentations, and reports using AI to structure information and accelerate document creation workflows.
• Task Automation: Build custom AI assistants that can automate repetitive tasks, freeing up time for higher-value work and reducing manual labor.

The workshop is open to entrepreneurs, small business owners, and professionals at all levels of AI experience, with no technical background required. Attendees will need to bring a laptop and power supply to participate actively in the hands-on sessions.

"Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming an essential business tool, and we want to ensure Hawaii's businesses have the knowledge and confidence to use it effectively," said Sherry Menor, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii.

Sherry Menor, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii

Menor emphasized that the workshop is designed to help entrepreneurs and business professionals "work smarter, save time and remain competitive in an increasingly digital economy." This reflects a recognition that AI adoption is no longer optional for businesses seeking to maintain competitiveness.

Menor

Why Are Universities Also Embracing NotebookLM for Learning?

Beyond the business sector, NotebookLM is gaining traction in educational settings as well. Educators are using the tool to help students process dense academic texts more efficiently. The platform allows students to upload assigned readings and generate timelines, flashcards for studying, and video summaries, enabling faster text processing and more effective research.

However, educators are also raising important questions about the long-term effects of outsourcing cognitive effort to AI. While AI tools can help students understand material faster, some academics worry that removing the struggle from learning may undermine deeper understanding. The cognitive friction involved in working through difficult texts, holding conflicting ideas in mind, and reorganizing one's own thoughts appears to be central to how learning actually transforms the human mind.

This tension between short-term efficiency gains and long-term learning outcomes represents a critical challenge as AI tools become more prevalent in education. The question is not whether to use AI, but how to use it in ways that preserve the productive struggle that makes learning stick.

For Hawaii's business community, the September 29 workshop offers a practical entry point into AI adoption. By providing hands-on experience with tools like NotebookLM, ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, the Chamber is helping entrepreneurs understand not just what these tools can do, but how to integrate them thoughtfully into their operations. The workshop demonstrates that AI adoption is increasingly about practical skill-building rather than theoretical understanding, and that small businesses can compete effectively by mastering these tools quickly.