Iqra University hosted a hands-on workshop on April 29, 2025, exploring the intersection of digital marketing and artificial intelligence. Titled ‘Digital Marketing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI),’ the session was led by Josh Bircham, Course Leader – Digital Marketing at Robert Gordon University. With his global perspectives and engaging approach, Bircham brought fresh energy and practical insight to the conversation around AI-driven marketing.
The workshop opened with an interactive activity, as Bircham invited students to use ChatGPT to find and share fun facts about Scotland — a simple yet effective way to demonstrate how AI can assist with content creation in real time.
“AI is incredibly intelligent but shockingly stupid,” Bircham quipped with a grin, launching into a deeper dive about the history of AI — from the Turing Test to Machine Learning and Deep Learning.
And Bircham didn’t just speak about AI — he made students experience it. They explored how prompt writing can make or break results, how clarity and tone can shift the direction of AI outputs, and why knowing when to chain prompts is a key digital skill of the future.
“AI is excellent in writing things in a certain tone,” he noted, highlighting how marketers can harness AI not to replace creativity but to supercharge it.
The students were then challenged to design a marketing campaign positioning Scotland as a must-visit destination for Pakistani travellers and Bircham guided through the entire process.
His stance on AI was refreshingly balanced and resonated with the following:
“Some people call this artificial intelligence, but the reality is this technology will enhance us. So, instead of artificial intelligence, I think we’ll augment our intelligence.”
True to form, Bircham didn’t just hype up AI. He also got real about its limitations. From the Goal Disalignment Problem to Bias in Algorithms, the workshop took a critical lens to the ethical challenges we must all be mindful of.
Needless to say, the workshop turned out to be a window into the future — one where humans don’t compete with AI but collaborate with it.
In a world brimming with tech tools and machine learning models, one thing is clear: the real power lies in how we use them. And after this workshop, IU students are certainly more ready than ever to lead that charge.
