Artificial intelligence is developing at a rapid pace and its impact on various sectors of the economy is becoming more and more noticeable, also in Poland. With Ilona Tomaszewska, Public Sector Lead at Microsoft Poland, we will focus on the most important global trends in AI, the challenges of its implementation and the role artificial intelligence plays in the digital transformation of Polish companies and institutions.
Brandsit: What are the most important global trends in the development of artificial intelligence that affect the Polish market?
Ilona Tomaszewska, Microsoft: Artificial intelligence is developing at an unprecedented pace. This is evidenced by the fact that at the recent Microsoft Ignite conference alone, we announced around 80 new products and features centred around this technology. However, such rapid development of AI raises concerns about its security. It is therefore up to the companies and organisations providing intelligent algorithms to ensure that they are properly protected and trusted. To this end, Microsoft launched the Secure Future Initiative a year ago, which puts strong security at the heart of every one of our services and products. We’ve engaged as many as 34,000 engineers to ensure that our solutions are properly protected, and we’re confident that security will be the most important trend setting artificial intelligence worldwide.
“Security will be the most important trend determining the development of artificial intelligence worldwide.”
Brandsit: How does Microsoft view the role of artificial intelligence in the digital transformation of Polish companies and institutions?
Ilona Tomaszewska, Microsoft: Artificial intelligence is a revolutionary tool that allows companies to increase efficiency, reduce costs, enrich employee and customer experience, transform business processes or create innovation. In a word – it allows people to achieve more. Thanks to the use of AI, Polish companies can automate routine tasks, create personalised offers for potential customers, or simply make better decisions. And this is extremely necessary, especially at a time of a huge skills gap that we are constantly facing in Europe. In Poland alone, according to calculations by the Polish Economic Institute, there is a shortage of at least 25,000 IT specialists. Artificial intelligence can fill this gap by taking over routine, repetitive tasks from employees, freeing up their time and potential for more strategic tasks.
Brandsit: What are the biggest challenges for implementing AI in Polish business?
Ilona Tomaszewska, Microsoft: I think that the main challenge related to the implementation of AI in Polish business is the lack of adequate competencies and qualifications of employees. According to the latest Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) report, only 44.3 per cent of Polish citizens have basic digital competences, which is well below the average for the European Union member states, which is 56 per cent. At a time of dynamic development of technology and AI, such skills become particularly important. We, as Microsoft, want to fill this gap and improve the competences of Poles. That is why we recently announced an initiative to train one million of our country’s citizens in AI. This includes both basic skills, such as writing prompts, and more advanced skills, such as coding with AI. We believe that spreading this knowledge will accelerate the deployment of AI in business and the public sector, as well as benefit people and entire organisations.
“We want to train one million citizens of our country with AI. This includes both basic skills, such as writing prompts, and more advanced skills, such as coding with AI.”
Brandsit: Microsoft recently announced an initiative in which one million people in Poland will gain AI competencies by 2025 as part of the Microsoft AI Skills Navigator platform. What makes Poland such an important market in terms of AI education?
Ilona Tomaszewska, Microsoft: Poland is a key market for us with huge potential to become the technology hub of Central and Eastern Europe. It is here that as many as ¼ of developers from the entire region work. It is also here that we have invested in the establishment of a data processing infrastructure – Azure Poland Central and in a competence enhancement programme, as a result of which we have already trained 430,000 IT professionals, business representatives, partners and students. However, we realise that this is still insufficient. Market conditions are changing, technology is evolving, companies are adopting new solutions. As the Microsoft Work Trend Index indicates, more than half (53 per cent) of business leaders in Poland would no longer hire a person without AI skills, and 55 per cent of them would rather hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills than a more experienced person without such skills. According to the same survey, 61 per cent of employees in Poland already use AI in their work, while globally the figure is as high as 75 per cent. Microsoft’s new commitment in Poland responds to the urgent need to develop AI skills to support the growth of business, the public sector and society. AI Skills Navigator offers more than 200 courses from LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn, GitHub and partners in one place that are available to everyone for free. The right training can be found there for everyone, regardless of their level of expertise in using artificial intelligence.
“Already 61 per cent of employees in Poland use AI in their work, while globally it is as high as 75 per cent.”
Brandsit: What applications of artificial intelligence does Microsoft see in the public sector in Poland? Can we expect more digitisation of public services using AI?
Ilona Tomaszewska, Microsoft: Artificial intelligence is a universal tool that can find its application in any area of the economy. However, when planning its implementation in highly regulated sectors or in the public sector, it is necessary to bear in mind the security of the technologies used. Microsoft places particular emphasis on this aspect. Security is our top priority and the Secure Future Initiative (SFI) we are developing highlights the company-wide commitment and responsibility we feel to protect our customers. We are also committed to providing trustworthy artificial intelligence and are developing leading technology support in this area. Therefore, our solutions and technologies can be deployed with confidence in the public sector, finance or healthcare. An example is PKO Faktoring, which was the first factoring company in Poland to use artificial intelligence in factoring education. The Virtual Expert, based on Azure OpenAI technology, provides instant answers to questions about factoring, the basic requirements to use this service and its impact on the business. This will provide interested customers with solution proposals that address their needs in real time and with 24/7 availability.
Another application of artificial intelligence in the public sector is Microsoft’s collaboration with the Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw. This is the first project of its kind in the world to use artificial intelligence for the early detection of genetic kidney defects in fetuses. The solution improves the effectiveness of prenatal testing by showing doctors changes in fetal ultrasound images indicating potential genetic diseases.
Brandsit: What are the benefits of using artificial intelligence in public administration and what projects is Microsoft already implementing in this area in Poland?
Ilona Tomaszewska, Microsoft: Microsoft ‘s Digital Future Index data shows that the level of digitisation of the public sector is directly proportional to the country’s innovation. The more digitisation in citizen services, the more modernity and all the benefits associated with it enter into the life of every citizen. In addition, countries that embrace digital solutions are more agile, resilient to crises and better equipped to build new capacities and innovative solutions. However, we recognise that public administrations need to take special account of aspects related to security, data privacy or strict legislation. For this reason, nationally, the use of AI in public administration is lower than in business, which has likely limited the ability of government departments to work at the same level of agility and innovation as the private sector.
“The level of digitisation of the public sector is directly proportional to the country’s innovation.”
However, solutions such as Microsoft 365 Copilot offer a guarantee of security, the best safeguards and data privacy. Their use by government employees can automate repetitive tasks and simplify many tasks, ultimately improving their productivity and job satisfaction.
“Nationally, the use of AI in government is lower than in business, which has likely limited the ability of government departments to work at the same level of agility and innovation as the private sector.”
Brandsit: How does Microsoft ensure that AI technologies are developed and deployed responsibly, safely and ethically?
Ilona Tomaszewska, Microsoft: Security is our top priority, and the Secure Future Initiative (SFI) we are developing highlights the company-wide commitment and responsibility we feel to protect our customers. We are committed to prioritising security, and building our solutions around three principles: protection by design, protection by default and protected operations. In addition to our own products, Microsoft Defender or Purview, our AI services are also equipped with basic security controls, i.e. they have built-in features to help counter rapid attacks and copyright violations. We have also adopted responsible AI principles, which indicate how to securely create and deploy AI across the company. In practice, this means properly building, testing and monitoring systems to avoid unwanted behaviour, i.e. harmful content, bias, misuse and other potential threats. Over the years, we have invested significant resources in building the necessary governance structure, policies, tools and processes that allow us to adhere to these principles and safely create and deploy artificial intelligence. In addition, we are committed to sharing the knowledge we have gained along the way to comply with responsible AI principles with our clients. We use our best practices and knowledge to provide people and organisations with the capabilities and tools to create AI applications that meet the same high standards we strive for.
