“Trust cannot be generated without responsible innovation”

The company specialized in data analysis and artificial intelligence (AI) SAS will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, five decades of software development and support for companies so they can find the most appropriate technology for their objectives.

“Part of that for us means making slow decisions when it comes to emerging technology,” SAS Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Gavin Day explained in an interview with Europa Press.

This stance contrasts with the speed with which markets and suppliers move towards any new technology. “We want to go and talk to our customers about the problems they want to solve and then make sure we use the appropriate thing to solve them“, which It can be AI, but also basic analytics with which SAS has been working for more than 40 years.

This is an exercise of responsibility that the technology company applies both internally and with its clients, and involves education and awareness about new technologies.

It is not just about knowing what AI is, but also about seeing the type of governance that should be implemented, the complementary technologies that can be used with it and even how it should be implemented to comply with current legislation, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union.

“I think the EU set a great example with the GDPR. It set limits and companies understood how to use it“said the manager, who hopes that the same meeting point can be reached regarding AI.

Meanwhile, they work in accordance with regulations, putting customers at the center. “Our customers do business with SAS because they can trust us, they can trust us with their data. They can trust us to make the right decisions,” says Day, who emphasizes that “trust cannot be built without responsible innovation.”

One way to responsibly address emerging technologies is with the use of synthetic data, especially in the face of scarcity and privacy challenges posed by training AI and agents.

“Es a faster, cheaper and more secure way to generate data so we can run simulations” and without having to worry about the use of personal identification information. In this regard, the manager has pointed out that, through the SAS Viya platform, several of his clients already use this type of data and assures that “they are seeing significant benefits.”

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WITH HUMAN SUPERVISION

AI drives personal productivity in companies and also at SAS, where agents “make the workday easier,” especially with organization and scheduling. “But we also do it with human supervision. We can’t just let generative AI fix the code. You have to do that, almost like a kind of spell checker to write code,” the manager clarifies.

When it comes to your customers, things are not so clear. “CIOs have spent a lot of money on artificial intelligence, but they are not seeing the results they expect and are receiving pressure from boards of directors.” This is because ““AI is still a technology that is looking for a use case.”

With SAS Viya Copilots, the company helps them make more automated decisions with human supervision, but as Day explained, “companies should choose small problems that they want to try to solve with AI instead of trying to solve a problem that is not relevant to their business.”

Another of the technologies that was mentioned last year as new to SAS Viya is quantum AIan area in which SAS currently invests and whose technology is already used in the American company Georgia Pacific to help Optimize your manufacturing plants.

“There are things related to optimization that are very complex and that is where we should take the problems to the quantum dimension,” says the SAS manager.

50 YEARS PUTTING PEOPLE AT THE CENTER

The interview with Gavin Day was carried out within the framework of sessions known as kickoff meetings, in which managers meet with local teams to establish objectives and align efforts.

And this time they have done it with the 50th anniversary celebration on the horizon. “For us, It’s about continuing the pace of innovation. Continue investing in our employees and continue investing in our customers“said Day.

With this, they reinforce the approach with which they put people at the center, which not only dates back to the company’s beginnings but continues to be present in future plans. “I think about where I want SAS to go: If we continue to keep the customer there and make sure we deliver value and trusted decisions, we will be successful for another 50.”the manager has added.