EP 7 — SAP’s Philipp Herzig on Responsible AI Practices and Essential Skills for AI Leadership

In this episode of Chief AI Officer, Ben speaks with Philipp Herzig, Chief AI Officer at SAP SE. They explore the current state of enterprise AI, discussing its potential for transformative business outcomes and the challenges companies face in implementation.

Philipp shares his thoughts on responsible AI practices, emphasizing the importance of transparency, bias mitigation, and explainability in AI deployment. Additionally, he highlights the essential skills for AI leadership, including the need for strong soft skills, a comprehensive strategy, and a customer-centric approach.

 

Topics discussed:

 

• How enterprises are experimenting with AI and identifying legitimate use cases that drive business value.
• Common hurdles like security, data privacy, and accuracy when implementing AI solutions in large enterprises.
• The impact of AI on predictive maintenance, particularly in optimizing shop floor operations and factory workflows.
• Emphasis on transparency, bias detection, and explainability to ensure ethical and responsible AI deployment.
• Challenges and advancements in zero-shot prompting techniques for complex use cases in AI applications.
• AI in Finance: Specific examples of AI applications in finance, such as sales forecasting and financial data summarization.
• The importance of focusing on customer needs and identifying high-value use cases in both back-office and front-office applications.
• Essential skills for aspiring AI leaders, including soft skills, strategic thinking, and a well-rounded understanding of AI, finance, and legal aspects.
• The process of integrating AI projects within existing products and overcoming challenges faced by both the company and its customers.