Daniel Lačen, Management Board Member, TALUM
Daniel Lačen has been with Talum since 1988, initially working in finance and accounting. In 1993, he became the head of accounting. He earned a finance degree from the Faculty of Economics and Business in Maribor while working. In 2004, he obtained a certified accountant license from the Slovenian Institute of Auditors. In 2009, he completed training for company supervisory or management committee membership. Lačen has actively contributed to Talum's reorganization, introducing innovations, and adapting business operations and internal structures to market conditions.
"Companies in Slovenia will need to recognize advanced digital tools, including artificial intelligence, as tools for employees to perform their work better and more efficiently. The Slovenian economy will need to position itself on the digital map and set clear short-term and long-term development strategies. The use and development of digital technologies in manufacturing companies must be key priorities, contributing to a more competitive economy and increasing added value."
How do you perceive the role of AI in business today and in the future?
The business world is a dynamic and rapidly evolving environment in which we must be prepared for change. Artificial intelligence is one of many technologies that allow us to optimize our processes. In doing so, we must maintain a healthy balance between human and computer roles. It is important to recognize that the reliability of data still depends on the inputs provided by humans. The added value of these tools is that they serve as an aid to employees. With the development of artificial intelligence, it will be able to assist in making more significant decisions in the business world in the future, and together with informed users, it will be a tool that can provide a business advantage compared to those who do not adopt these technologies.
What significance does AI hold for businesses in your country?
Companies are aware of the importance of artificial intelligence, but they also recognize its pitfalls. New technologies need time to penetrate business environments. Companies are gradually starting to implement artificial intelligence in less demanding processes and expand it to more complex ones. All advanced digital technologies need to be introduced into companies step by step, with considerable learning, training, and patience. It is necessary to proceed cautiously and thoughtfully when using these tools.
What are the main advantages and challenges of AI implementation for companies?
The main advantage of artificial intelligence is the ability to make data-based decisions. The main challenges for companies are how to obtain unified/reliable data to ensure that the efficiency of artificial intelligence is high enough to be beneficial for users. It is necessary to define which data to acquire to obtain as much information as possible using artificial intelligence. Automatic data capture and processing need to be established to prevent human errors.
What initiatives has your organization undertaken to promote AI awareness and readiness among businesses?
With development projects in the field of digitization, we have started activities to obtain "single source of truth" data. This means that we have data available that is the basis for developing effective digital tools such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc. We present our findings at conferences and actively connect with companies that have also embarked on the path of digital transformation and are willing to share their good and bad practices.
Can you describe any programs or events that have been organized to encourage dialogue about artificial intelligence among companies?
As part of the Aluminij 4.0 project (JR Digital Transformation of the Economy), we organized several workshops on the use of data and artificial intelligence in production processes. At the same time, we connected with other companies that were successful in the tender and were willing to share the knowledge they had acquired about artificial intelligence in their production processes. Connecting and sharing practices is essential, as it allows for quicker and more cost-effective solutions for companies.
How do you believe business leaders in your country view AI in terms of its importance and potential?
There is a lot of writing and talking about artificial intelligence. There are also many explanations and understandings or misunderstandings about artificial intelligence and digital transformation in general. Artificial intelligence is not just Chat GPT. It is up to users to implement artificial intelligence in their processes and demonstrate its usefulness and potential through real examples.
What specific measures should companies take to determine whether artificial intelligence is important for them?
In the first phase, it is necessary to learn about this technology through various development workshops and examples of good practices. Attending conferences and fairs is an excellent opportunity to see the direction in which the industry is developing and where our competition stands. By educating employees about digital technologies and preparing a clear digital strategy, companies can determine the path they need to follow for digital development and which technologies are suitable for them.
For companies ready to implement artificial intelligence, what steps would you recommend?
In general, advanced digital technologies should be introduced with small steps. Artificial intelligence is a technology for which a lot of groundwork needs to be done. It is important that the selected project genuinely demonstrates the practical value of artificial intelligence. I would start with the question: "Are we using the right data?" This is the foundation necessary for building PoC and PoV models of artificial intelligence in the selected process.
Website TALUM (EN)
Daniel Lačen je zaposlen v Talumu od leta 1988, sprva je delal na področju financ in računovodstva. Leta 1993 je postal vodja računovodstva. Med delom je diplomiral iz financ na Ekonomsko-poslovni fakulteti v Mariboru. Leta 2004 je pridobil licenco za pooblaščenega računovodjo na Slovenskem inštitutu za revizijo. Leta 2009 je zaključil izobraževanje za članstvo v nadzornih ali upravnih odborih podjetij. Lačen je aktivno prispeval k reorganizaciji Taluma, uvajanju novosti in sprememb ter prilagajanju poslovanja in notranje organizacije tržnim razmeram.
"Podjetja v Sloveniji bodo morala prepoznati napredna digitalna orodja, vključno z umetno inteligenco, kot orodja, ki zaposlenim omogočajo boljše in učinkovitejše opravljanje dela. Slovensko gospodarstvo se bo moralo postaviti na digitalni zemljevid in si zastaviti jasne kratkoročne in dolgoročne razvojne strategije. Uporaba in razvoj digitalnih tehnologij v proizvodnih podjetjih morata biti ključni prioriteti, ki bosta prispevali k bolj konkurenčnemu gospodarstvu in povečanju dodane vrednosti."
Kako dojemate vlogo umetne inteligence v poslovnem svetu danes in v prihodnosti?
Poslovni svet je dinamično in hitro razvijajoče okolje v katerem moramo biti pripravljeni na spremembe. Umetna inteligenca je ena izmed mnogih tehnologij, ki nam omogoča, da svoje procese optimiziramo. Pri tem moramo vzdrževati zdravo ravnotežje med vlogami človek – računalnik. Pomembno se je zavedati, da zanesljivost podatkov še vedno temelji na vhodih, ki jih poda človek. Dodana vrednost teh orodij je, da služijo kot pomoč zaposlenemu. Z razvojem umetne inteligence bo slednja v prihodnosti sposobna pomagati pri sprejemanju pomembnejših odločitev v poslovnem svetu in bo skupaj z ozaveščenim uporabnikom orodje, ki bo lahko tudi poslovna prednost v primerjavi s tistimi, ki te tehnologije ne bodo sprejeli za svojo.
Kakšen pomen ima umetna inteligenca za podjetja v vaši državi?
Podjetja se zavedajo pomembnosti umetne inteligence, vendar se zavedajo tudi njenih pasti. Nove tehnologije rabijo svoj čas, da prodrejo v poslovna okolja. Podjetja postopoma začenjajo vpeljevati umetno inteligenco v manj zahtevne procese in jih širijo na kompleksnejše procese. Vse napredne digitalne tehnologije je potrebno v podjetje uvajati korak po korak s precejšnjo mero učenja, usposabljanja in potrpežljivosti. Z uporabo teh orodij je potrebno postopati previdno in premišljeno.
Katere so glavne prednosti in izzivi uvajanja umetne inteligence za podjetja?
Glavna prednost umetne inteligence je sposobnost odločanja na osnovi podatkov. Pri tem so glavni izzivi za podjetje kako pridobiti enotne/zanesljive podatke, da bo učinkovitost umetne inteligence dovolj visoka, da bo za uporabnika imela korist. Potrebno je definirati katere podatke pridobiti, da lahko z uporabo umetne inteligence pridobimo čim več informacij. Vzpostaviti je potrebno avtomatsko zajemanje in obdelavo podatkov, da se prepreči vpliv človeških napak.
Katere pobude je vaša organizacija sprejela za spodbujanje ozaveščenosti o umetni inteligenci in pripravljenosti med podjetji?
Z razvojnimi projekti na področju digitalizacije smo začeli z aktivnostmi pridobivanja “single source of truth” podatkov. To pomeni, da imamo na razpolago podatke, ki so osnova za razvoj učinkovitih digitalnih orodij kot so umetna inteligenca, strojno učenje itd. Svoje ugotovitve predstavljamo na konferencah in z aktivnim povezovanjem med podjetji, ki so tudi sama stopila na pot digitalne preobrazbe in so pripravljena deliti svoje dobre kakor tudi slabe prakse.
Ali lahko opišete katere programe ali dogodke, ki so bili organizirani za spodbujanje dialoga o umetni inteligenci med podjetji?
V podjetju smo v sklopu projekta Aluminij 4.0 (JR Digitalna preobrazba gospodarstva) organizirali večje število delavnic v zvezi z uporabo podatkov in umetne inteligence v proizvodnih procesih. Hkrati pa smo se povezali z ostalimi podjetji, ki so bila uspešna na razpisu in so bila pripravljena deliti pridobljena znanja o umetni inteligenci v svojih proizvodnih procesih. Vsekakor je potrebno povezovanje in deljenje praks, saj se tako hitreje in ugodneje razvije rešitev za podjetje.
Kako verjamete, da poslovni voditelji v vaši državi gledajo na umetno inteligenco v smislu njene pomembnosti in potenciala?
O umetni inteligenci se ogromno piše in govori. Veliko je tudi razlag in razumevanj oz. nerazumevanj o umetni inteligenci in nasploh digitalni preobrazbi. Umetna inteligenca ni samo ChatGPT. Na uporabnikih je, da umetno inteligenco vpeljemo v svoje procese in na realnih primerih pokažemo njeno uporabnost in njen potencial.
Menite, da so podjetja v vaši državi pripravljena sprejeti umetno inteligenco? Zakaj da ali zakaj ne?
Podjetja v Sloveniji so zelo rezervirana pri sprejemanju umetne inteligence. Vlaganja v razvoj novih tehnologij, ki niso vezana na primarno dejavnost podjetij so še vedno premajhna. Velik preskok bo potrebno narediti tudi pri digitalni širini” vodstvenih kadrov, da bodo prepoznali digitalne tehnologije, kot nujni del razvoja podjetij, ki bo omogočil dolgoročno stabilno poslovanje. Mlajše generacije, ki se zaposlujejo v tradicionalnih podjetjih si ne predstavljajo več dela brez uporabe naprednih digitalnih tehnologij. Velikokrat je ravno vodstveni kader tisti, ki zavira razvoj z naprednejšimi tehnologijami.
Katere konkretne ukrepe bi morala podjetja sprejeti, da ugotovijo, ali je umetna inteligenca zanje pomembna?
V prvi fazi je potrebno spoznati to tehnologijo preko raznih razvojnih delavnic in primerov dobrih praks. Udeležbe na konferencah in sejmih so odlična priložnost, da vidimo v katero smer se panoga razvija in kje je naša konkurenca. Z izobraževanjem zaposlenih o digitalnih tehnologijah in s pripravo jasne digitalne strategije podjetja lahko podjetja določijo pot po kateri se morajo digitalno razvijati in katere tehnologije so za podjetja primerna.
Website TALUM (SI)