Blake Harkness
AI Engineer, Founder of Harkness AI and Young Kiwis in AI
Christchurch, New Zealand
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Blake Harkness is a 23-year-old AI engineer from Christchurch with a Mechatronic Engineering background (Massey University). He founded Harkness AI, which has helped 50+ NZ businesses use AI in their day-to-day work, and Young Kiwis in AI (YKIA), a 350+ member community. He has spoken at 35+ events to more than 900 people, sits on Engineering NZ's AI Advisory Committee, was part of the 2026 NZ AI delegation to China, and is a Rising AI Star finalist in the Aotearoa AI Awards.
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Using AI to Make Your Team Great
A business and leadership keynote that reframes AI from cost-cutting to amplification: the same team producing dramatically more. Blake shows that the hard half (knowing your business) your people already own, AI is now the easy half, and your most AI-fluent staff are often your most junior. Includes a live plain-English demo of AI doing real admin work across the tools a business already uses.
Audience: business owners, leaders and managers. Format: keynote, 25-45 minutes, with a live demo. Delivered at the M2 AI Summit 2026 (340 attendees).
The Best Time to Get Into AI Is Right Now
A motivational keynote for young people built on a simple truth: generative AI is only a few years old, so a graduate starts on a near-level playing field with people twice their age. Blake covers why businesses pay for applied AI, the NZ skills shortage, the university gap, and what he saw on the 2026 NZ AI delegation to China. He closes on the one move that actually gets you found - building in public and personal branding.
Audience: students, graduates and young people. Format: keynote, 15-45 minutes. Delivered at universities and careers events across NZ in 2026.
AI for Your Small Business - Save Hours and Get Found
A plain-English session for SME owners with no jargon and no fear. Part one explains what AI actually is and how to use it safely; part two walks the real jobs it does day-to-day (enquiries, pricing, listings, reviews, books); part three covers getting found in the Age of AI - GEO and AI search - when customers ask ChatGPT or Claude for a recommendation. Tailorable to any industry; first delivered as a paid workshop for the Bed and Breakfast Association of New Zealand.
Audience: small and medium business owners. Format: workshop or keynote, 60-90 minutes, tailored to the industry.
Hands-On with AI Agents, Claude and MCP
A hands-on technical workshop for engineers and technical teams. Blake works through AI agents, Claude, and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) - how agents connect to real systems and do real work without custom plumbing. Practical and build-along, going beyond chatbots into automations participants can actually ship.
Audience: engineers and technical teams. Format: hands-on workshop, half-day. Attendees need a laptop.
Blake Harkness
AI Engineer, Founder of Harkness AI and Young Kiwis in AI
Christchurch, New Zealand
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