On Thursday, March 7, 2024, the second edition of digitalks took place, an event organized by Apptitude. The event was held in Lausanne, at Plateforme10.
Data is often referred to as the oil of the 21st century. Having it could make us the next Rockefellers. But is it really that simple? Like oil, data needs to be extracted and refined to bring value. Not all data, after all, is of the same quality.
In the world of data, textual data derived from language—abundant on forums, social media, Wikipedia, GitHub, and other sources—was once considered too unstructured and of little value. Yet, OpenAI utilized this data to create its product, ChatGPT, which is now valued at $80 billion.
Just like oil, it’s essential to find the right use for data. To successfully extract value from it, you need to invent an engine for it. The topics of data collection, use, and protection have already sparked numerous debates in the media. Today, with the addition of artificial intelligence, new possibilities and opportunities are emerging.
There’s nothing like examples to discuss Big Data, its value, and its commercial exploitation. The second edition of digitalks was built with this in mind, highlighting the “engines” created by:
- Richard A. Frey, CEO at Inait
- Christine Chichester, Chapter Lead Data & ML Engineering and Modeling at DSM-Firmenich
- Pierre Metrailler, CEO of SpotMe
Because, as you know, in Switzerland, we don’t have oil. But we have data!
The digitalks aims to bring together entrepreneurship, design, and engineering. Three speakers take the stage to share their experiences, successes, and challenges around a common theme. The goal is to present concrete and practical cases, avoiding any promotional approach. Discover and register for the next edition: www.digitalks.ch
At INAIT, represented by its CEO Richard A. Frey, the goal is to develop artificial intelligence that is reliable and beneficial for society and the environment.
Richard emphasized the need to not overestimate some of today’s AI technologies, even referring to them as “mostly artificial intelligence.”
He then illustrated his point with an example from the watchmaking industry. He demonstrated how AI can assist human experts in sorting parts, leaving only the problematic pieces for the expert judgment of the human eye. He also presented a solution that uses data to efficiently assess damage to accident-damaged cars, thereby automating the process. One advantage of automation is that it helps avoid missing minor issues by focusing too much on major ones.
Christine Chichester, Chapter Lead Data & ML Engineering and Modeling at DSM-Firmenich, emphasized the importance of the data accumulated over the years in her company.
Letting it sit idle could have been an option. But instead, Christine explained how this data has revolutionized the perfume industry: by developing AI. The process of creating an initial perfume base, which used to take up to six months, can now be completed in just a few minutes. Does this endanger the profession of perfumers? Not really, according to her experience and that of her colleagues. Since AI doesn’t have a sense of smell, the perfumer’s nose remains and will always be the final touch in any creation. She also broadly discussed the benefits and questions raised by using AI in creative fields, especially in art. Notably, they were completely surprised when AI proposed a perfume with only four components, whereas most current recipes contain an average of 50. The result wasn’t far off, proving that AI enables innovation. It also raises questions about our working methods and the legacy of “best practices.”
Pierre Metrailler, CEO of SpotMe, addressed the question of what makes an event successful. How do you perform a concrete evaluation, possibly in real-time?
Pierre stressed the importance of creating and measuring audience engagement at an event. The solution proposed by SpotMe allows organizers to analyze their event’s performance in real-time and make strategic decisions based on tangible data. This digital approach transforms participant interactions into actionable insights, going beyond mere subjective feedback. This becomes possible by implementing conscious strategies and measurable interactions. More importantly, this approach could change client behavior and facilitate commercial outreach efforts within a given timeframe following the event.
Discover the theme and speakers of our upcoming digitalks conference and register online at: www.digitalks.ch.