Industry Experts Discuss Generative AI for Business at Deloitte Conference

Deloitte Luxembourg has announced it recently hosted the fifth edition of its Disrupted/Disrupter Conference at the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT), with a focus on Generative AI.

An international lineup of industry experts tackled topics from business use cases to ethical and legal considerations for society.

“The name of this conference is very intentional. Generative AI, like any new technology, has the ability to disrupt industries and generate competitive advantage for the companies that harness its power,” explained Nicolas Griedlich, AI and Data Leader at Deloitte Luxembourg. “[…] thoughtful and responsible implementation and governance will be critical to ensuring it benefits both businesses and society at large.”

Generative AI is the latest development in artificial intelligence. This iteration leverages large language models and data sets to generate unique outputs, much like a human would. This is a big leap from earlier AI that focused more on task-specific capabilities, such as speech recognition. OpenAI introduced the technology to the market in late 2022, and others quickly followed suit. The capacity of this technology to produce text, images, voices, and code has captured the interest of both corporate and public audiences.

In his opening speech, Deloitte Luxembourg AI and Data Leader, Nicolas Griedlich, noted that these advancements are estimated to increase global GDP by 7% over ten years, helping to explain why 58% of European companies are keen to explore its use in business. Deloitte Luxembourg emphasised it is already leveraging its tailored industry expertise to help clients navigate the tech that is expected to accelerate business growth, increase earnings and shape new markets, from banking and insurance to the public sector and beyond.

Dr Jochen Papenbrock, Head of Financial Technology EMEA at NVIDIA, a partner of Deloitte, kicked off the series of talks highlighting Generative AI’s potential to drive innovation and efficiency.

Dr Thomas Metzinger, philosopher, professor at Johannes Gutenberg University and director of MPE-Research Network, encouraged the audience to consider crucial ethical factors. He emphasised the significance of addressing unique AI-related issues. He also highlighted the importance of aligning values in the realms of ethics, finance and the law.

Silvia A Carretta, Chief Legal Officer of Women in AI and Digital Life Initiative research fellow at Cornell Tech, discussed the potential impacts on society from a structural and legal lens before noting the current regulatory landscape.

Avanti Sharma of Workshop4Me, closed the event with final observations. “There is no doubt that we are only at the beginning of a massive technological shift. But I’m confident, and hopeful, that with its careful, conscientious application, Generative AI has the power to be a disruptive force for good - one that benefits both businesses and society at large. It is up to us to take on the responsibility of harnessing AI's immense potential. We have the possibility to make this great; let's work together to make it happen.”

A networking cocktail followed the conferences.