5 Years Kate 🎂: inside KBC’s AI Playbook

In this episode of The Data Playbook, host Kris Peeters talks with Dr. Barak Chizi, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at KBC Group, about 10+ years of industrialising AI: from 2,000+ use cases and an AI-driven anti-money laundering platform to Kate’s 5th birthday and KBC’s data strategy.

You’ll hear how KBC:

• Uses the U-model to move AI projects from idea to production with clear go / no-go gates

• Prioritises ROI over AI theatre, and why every use case needs a business owner

• Built an AI-powered anti-money laundering platform, then turned it into a product for other banks

• Upgraded Kate with OpenAI while keeping control, safety and vendor independence

• Balances LLMs vs classic ML vs simple automation instead of “LLM all the things”

• Treats AI and IP as strategic assets, not something to fully outsource

• Built a highly diverse, PhD-heavy AI team and a recruiting process that actually tests thinking

• Why soft logic and modelling human consciousness & intent might be the next frontier

Show notes & links

Foundations of soft logic & consciousness modelling

• The Foundation of Soft Logic

  👉 https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-58233-2

On irrational human behaviour and decision-making

• Dan Ariely – Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

  👉 https://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expanded-Decisions/dp/0061353248/

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