AI - but with a plan, please: Santiago Walliser in the video podcast
Artificial intelligence has long been a part of everyday life at many companies—but there’s often no clear plan behind it, says Santiago Walliser, an expert in quantitative finance and artificial intelligence and founder of the consulting firm Lean FS.
How do companies move from simply trying out individual tools to a truly well thought-out AI strategy? Santiago Walliser, founder of the Swiss consulting firm Lean FS, talks about this with Christoph Soltmannowski in the Text Akademie video podcast.
From tool to system - with the AI readiness check
At the heart of the discussion is the "AI Readiness Check" developed by Lean FS, a practical maturity model that helps companies to realistically assess their current status in terms of digitalization and AI. Walliser has observed this time and again in practice: Many companies are already using tools such as ChatGPT - but usually in an unstructured way, without clear goals, without trained staff and without the necessary data strategy in the background.
Strategy starts at the top
For Walliser, one thing is clear: the introduction of AI starts with management. Only when managers themselves understand how AI works and what concrete benefits it brings can the topic be strategically anchored in the company. This is precisely why Lean FS relies on targeted management workshops and practice-oriented training formats that quickly lead to application - and help to overcome fears of contact.
Safe paths to the future of AI
Another focus is on the topic of data security and trust. Many companies are hesitant to use AI because they have concerns about handling sensitive information. Local AI models - i.e. solutions that run directly on site without a cloud connection - offer new, secure prospects here. They make it possible to work with AI without compromising on data security.
Initial results from an accompanying study with over 250 companies show that the "AI Readiness Check" not only provides orientation, but also sharpens the focus on potential. Many participants were surprised at how much room for improvement there still is in their own digitalization - and how concrete the next steps can be.
Santiago Walliser is convinced that AI is not an end in itself and is not hype. It is a tool - and as with any tool, it depends on how you use it. Anyone who actively engages with AI today, plans strategically and focuses on people in the process will gain a real competitive advantage.
Santiago Walliser is an expert in quantitative finance and artificial intelligence based in Zurich. He is co-founder of Lean FS and Lean Financial Solutions, advises companies on AI-supported strategies and develops quantitative investment strategies using alternative data sources. He is also a PhD student at the University of Zurich and has extensive experience from previous positions at UBS, ETH Zurich and in fund management.
The video podcast "AI and Society - Paths into the New World" is produced by the Swiss Text Academy, which also offers courses on artificial intelligence in its Prompt Engineering program. Two episodes are released monthly, on Spotify ( https://open.spotify.com/show/4mSsEJuaShBuanBfBjoAeM?si=01b4363426db4d28) , Youtube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4InE9vz-QptAjyy0QXyk6lWFKXreWEh2&feature=shared and other podcast platforms
