VivaTech: meet our AI/Data experts
VivaTech, the major European event that “accelerates innovation by connecting startups, tech leaders, major corporations and investors”, took place in Paris from 22 to 25 May. A partner of the event, Societe Generale brought together more than 150 participants for a very instructive workshop devoted to responsible AI. This year, VivaTech’s central theme was (inevitably) AI! Given the current craze for the Generative AI revolution, the latter was at the heart of discussions and represented, according to the organisers, 40% of the innovations presented by exhibitors.
Responsible AI, a competitive advantage in the financial services universe
Spotlight on the workshop organised by Societe Generale with Artificial Intelligence (AI) experts. The latter led a multi-focal workshop to look in greater detail at how responsible AI is genuinely becoming a competitive advantage in the financial services universe. Societe Generale presented its achievements and major developments in this area and invited experts to take part in the event such as the start-up namR, the benchmarker Evident AI Insights, the consulting firm Accenture.
Noémie Ellezam, the Group’s Head of Artificial Intelligence, introduced the workshop by explaining that “the AI transformation within Societe Generale is first of all a business-focussed transformation. It involves identifying the most strategic use cases for the bank and its businesses, rationalising processes and encouraging cooperation between various departments”.
Martina Machet, Deputy Head of Data Science for SGRF, reminded participants that the SG Bank’s strategy “focusses on smart content to free up time for its members of staff and improve operational efficiency and customer satisfaction”, adding that “the priority is to provide AI solutions guided by the Company’s requirements and ultimately fully used by staff. That’s why the test & learn approach is favoured and change management is the key to success”.
To the question “what is driving our AI transformation today”, Etienne Guibout, the Group’s Deputy Head of Artificial Intelligence, confirmed that “Societe Generale’s strategy with regard to AI is guided by value and responsibility. The early integration of Data and AI within our digital transformation in 2016 has helped us build a solid base of hundreds of use cases. This extensive experience has enabled us to acquire solid in-house expertise in the delivery and supervision of the use of these technologies”.
The need to acculturate employees
Societe Generale is in seventh place in the EvidentAI benchmark in terms of developing talent and in first place in terms of training and career development, leading Etienne Guibout to comment on these impressive rankings: “At Group level, we have developed a training path to acclimatise the entire company to Digital, Data and AI at every level. At the same time, we have made online training available with more than 5,000 certification courses in data science”.
Lastly, in VivaTech’s lively aisles, experts from Societe Generale and its partners took part in speed interviews. Watch their testimony:
