Artificial intelligence in business one of the main themes of Impact '25
On 14 and 15 May, the economic and technological heart of Central and Eastern Europe beat in Poznań. At the 10th edition of the Impact congress, 650 panellists discussed key digital and financial trends, as well as the current geopolitical situation and Europe's position in a changing world. The highlight of this year's Impact was a speech by former US President Barack Obama. Representatives of Polish business, including IT industry leader Comarch, were also present among the congress guests.
Now in its 10th year, Impact brought together several thousand participants to listen to experts from around the world discuss key challenges for Poland and our region. Among the many foreign guests at Impact' 25 were former US Secretary of State John Kerry, world-renowned political scientists Francis Fukuyama and Ivan Krastev, democratic Belarus leader Svyatlana Tikhanouska and Financial Times editor-in-chief Martin Wolf. The highlight of this year's Impact was the keynote address by the chief guest, Barack Obama - US President from 2009 to 2017.
In an interview with Professor Timothy Snyder, the US politician noted that the rise of the internet has united people in many ways: - Thanks to the Internet, someone in Poland could listen to a young candidate speaking in Boston, while a child in a small village somewhere in Africa today can access all the world's knowledge via a smartphone. It is a powerful tool, but it is also true that it has led us to a certain polarisation - said the former US president.
Obama also shared his observations from his many years as an active politician and as a former president: - As I travel through Europe, Asia and Africa, I notice two things happening simultaneously. Firstly, every country, every nation has its own unique history - its own myths, struggles, tensions, transitions and conflicts. Secondly, despite these differences, we all have a lot in common. Everywhere we are grappling with similar questions: how to organise society in such a way as to build solidarity and trust? How do we find ourselves in the realities of globalisation and the rapid development of technology? How do we create an economic system that allows working people to earn with dignity, support their families and provide a better future for their children? Because the dreams and hopes of people all over the world are remarkably similar. Only the circumstances are different. And it is these that determine why one country goes in this direction and another in a completely different one. But the challenges remain common to us all - said the former American president at Impact '25.
How to make Europe more competitive
During Impact '25, much discussion was devoted to Europe's global positioning, including in the context of investment in the development of artificial intelligence. In the debate on the future of European competitiveness, discussants pointed out that one of the key challenges is the difference in the cost of energy, which is three times more expensive than in the US.
Financial Times editor-in-chief Martin Wolf noted that since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the US economy has grown far faster than the European economy. In addition to Wolf, participants in the discussion on this topic included Minister of State Assets Jakub Jaworowski, Krzysztof Krawczyk, partner at CVC Capital Partners, who is also vice-chairman of the supervisory board of Comarch S.A, and Dalida Gepfert from the Enea Group.
Europe still has a long way to go in terms of AI development.
In a discussion on Europe's position in the global race to develop artificial intelligence, the panellists devoted much attention to the differences in investment between the US and the European Union. Comarch SA CEO Jarosław Mikos emphasised that investments in AI in the US are not only higher than in Europe, but are also, above all, more efficiently implemented. This directly affects Europe's position in the development of artificial intelligence.
Photo Impact.
- In this race, we are unfortunately well behind and the statistics show this directly. Last year, around 40 AI models were developed in the States, the Chinese developed 15 models, and in Europe we only developed three. Europe, on the other hand, is a very prosperous continent, so there is still a lot of money to spend in the areas of health, education or robotics - said Jarosław Mikos.
The Comarch CEO noted that Europe has not used the right time to strengthen its technological sovereignty. - We are already so deeply immersed in the IT and technology ecosystem that today it is very difficult to imagine European sovereignty in this area - starting with the technology infrastructure itself and ending with the production of semiconductors and chips - Jarosław Mikos added.
In his view, when discussing the regulation of new technologies, it should not be forgotten that they are necessary in some areas. He cited the issue of private data as an example: - None of us would want our sensitive data to circulate freely in the world, so this is where I see a real space for regulatory action – said Jarosław Mikos. In his view, this could be important especially in the area of health, where artificial intelligence is already widely used today. - In an ageing Europe, AI can improve many aspects of daily life. There are quite a few fields where we can act, developing artificial intelligence - he added.
Jaroslaw Mikos stressed that companies such as Comarch have an important role to play in educating people about solutions supported by artificial intelligence. - The challenge we face in Europe is first and foremost a huge educational effort. Because what is artificial intelligence actually for? Above all, to increase productivity, improve human efficiency and improve quality of life. Therefore, entrepreneurs, including our company, have to put in a lot of work and commitment to keep up with these dynamic processes - said Jarosław Mikos.
The use of AI significantly improves business management
In a discussion about the cooperation between humans and AI, Comarch SA's Executive Vice President and ES Sector Director Zbigniew Rymarczyk pointed out that the initial “hype” for artificial intelligence is slowly passing. The reason for this may be that, despite the announcements, the so-called superintelligence has still not come into use. - But even what we have now is already a huge breakthrough. At this level, we can build specialised tools to support our daily work, enhancing our capabilities - emphasised the Comarch vice-president.
Photo Impact.
Zbigniew Rymarczyk said that until a year ago, even programmers were sceptical about using artificial intelligence in their work, but their attitude has radically changed. - At this point, even the biggest sceptics already see great value in it. They recognise that using AI increases their productivity - he noted.
The vice-president of Krakow-based Comarch used an example to show how artificial intelligence helps from the point of view of an ERP system: - Instead of struggling with difficult interfaces that we create ourselves, plus changes in regulations, we can support these complex processes with the help of intelligent chat. We can simply ask the tool to generate a report for us, e.g. on our largest customers. Or to invoice or block payment by bank transfer - Zbigniew Rymarczyk added.
The Director of the ES Sector at Comarch also stressed that in the context of cyber security or dealing with deepfakes, it is still the human being who remains the weakest link. - Let's be honest - how many of us use these tools, how many of us use complex passwords, how many of us encrypt data? Very often, literally every week, I get a message that one of our customers is asking for help because someone has hacked into their company and encrypted a database from our ERP system. Then it turns out that the company had no backup at all. Or it had, but this backup was so secure that it was also encrypted. Well, and then these companies have to pay the ransom. We have to think about that - Zbigniew Rymarczyk warned.