On Thursday, 7 December 2023, Deloitte Luxembourg hosted the 5th edition of its Disrupted/Disrupter Conference at the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT), with a focus on Generative AI. From business use cases to ethical and legal considerations for society, an international line-up of industry experts tackled topics that have been top of mind.

“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,” explains Nicolas Griedlich, AI & Data Leader at Deloitte Luxembourg. “But thoughtful and responsible implementation and governance will be critical to ensuring it benefits both businesses and society at large.”

Generative AI is the most recent development in artificial intelligence. A big leap from earlier AI that focused more on task-specific capabilities like speech recognition, this iteration is leveraging large language models and data sets to generate unique outputs, much like a human. OpenAI first brought the tech to market at the end of 2022, with others not far behind. The technology’s ability to generate text, images, voices and code have captivated both corporate and public attention.

In his opening speech, Griedlich shared that these advancements are estimated to increase global GDP by 7% over a 10-year period[1], helping to explain why 58% of European companies[2] are keen to explore its use in business. From banking and insurance to the public sector and beyond, Deloitte Luxembourg is already leveraging its tailored industry expertise to help clients navigate the tech that’s expected to accelerate business growth, increase earnings and shape new markets.

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

Dr. Thomas Metzinger, philosopher and professor at Johannes Gutenberg University and director of MPE-Research Network, invited the audience to be mindful of critical ethical considerations. Clarifying the issues unique to AI, he underlined the importance of value alignment when it comes to ethics, finance and the law.

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

Avanti Sharma of Workshop4Me, closed the event with final remarks. “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.” An AI-infused networking cocktail followed.

Curious about how Deloitte is helping its clients navigate this transformative tech? Learn more here: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/deloitte-analytics/articles/advancing-human-ai-collaboration.html

[1] Joseph Briggs and Devesh Kodnani, The potentially large effects of artificial intelligence on economic growth, Goldman Sachs, 26 March 2023.

[2] IDC, 2023 Future Enterprise Resiliency and Spending Survey.