Jürgen Müller is CTO at SAP. SAP
SAP CEO Jürgen Müller sees a risk with artificial intelligence in the fact that too few people know how to use it.
According to Müller, we are not learning as quickly as we should when it comes to technologies like AI.
In the interview he looks back on the year 2023 and explains what he did right and what he did wrong.
When I first spoke to SAP Chief Technology Officer Jürgen Müller earlier this year, generative AI was all the rage.
Nine months later: “A lot has happened. Everyone learned a lot. Natural language models are amazing and can do a lot of things,” Müller told Business Insider (BI) in November.
One problem with language models and generative AI is that they lack current knowledge. The German company focuses on cloud-based subscription services for its financial reporting, inventory tracking and human resources applications. It looks at company processes, including finance, procurement, human resources, customer relations or the supply chain.
This is how SAP uses artificial intelligence
“We are developing a method that allows you to combine the power of a large language model with all the real-time, enterprise-specific information you need,” he said.
Müller explained it to me like this: “Imagine if I give a colleague all the articles I have ever written and ask him to write an article that summarizes everything – in my style. It’s similar with the SAP cloud. Instead of articles, it has access to all employee files, invoices or emails – other important documents necessary for the daily work of a company – and can use this data to complete tasks faster.”
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SAP gives the large language models “the means to access the know-how,” says Müller. The German software giant has trained more than 50,000 of its 105,000 employees in AI.
SAP has been working in the area of machine learning with AI for almost nine years. “We have a lot of components and processes in place,” he said. The company seeks to answer how to work with data, how to protect it, how to use it ethically, what tools data scientists need and how to upgrade generative AI.
Mueller opened his iPad and showed me one of the tools at work – it analyzed financial slides and summarized them into an email for a board meeting. It also provided data points and a widget. Essentially, it completed hours of work in about five minutes.
The risks and opportunities of AI
Of course, security is a central aspect of SAP’s operations, as is checking for data distortions.
Müller sees all of this as an opportunity. “Technology won’t stop. We must – everyone in every role – continue to learn,” he said. He compared artificial intelligence to previous discussions about truck drivers becoming redundant, but that hasn’t happened.
“There is always a risk. We have to acknowledge that and work with it. But we also have to see where the opportunities lie,” he said.
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Interview with SAP CTO Müller
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Business Insider: What are you most looking forward to in 2024?
Jürgen Müller: “I look forward to seeing all of these things in real life, in action, in 2024. Many projects developed by customers and also by the industry are in preview mode. And now, in 2024, things are really getting down to business. I am really looking forward to this.”
BI: What are you most worried about next year?
Müller: “Regarding the adoption of AI, including programs like Chat GPT, language learning models: My biggest fear is that we are not learning fast enough globally. And I think the risk is not that there are new technologies. The risk is that we don’t put in the effort and the extra time, the extra hours. Because it takes a little time; it’s a little complex. Chat GPT thankfully makes it easy to access, and that’s a good thing. But in a business function it is still relatively complex to use this technology. That’s why everyone has to get used to it and learn. I think that’s the biggest risk. Then there is a divergence in society.
The worst thing would be if only a few knew how and what to do with it, and the majority didn’t. I think that’s one of the big concerns. But it should also be clear that, like any skill, you have to put in a little time to be good at it.”
BI: What did you do right in 2023?
Müller: “In 2023, our R&D investments in AI have paid off for businesses: more than 25,000 SAP Cloud customers are using at least one of our 130 AI scenarios. We launched a generative AI hub and expanded our solution offerings to include vector database capabilities. This solid foundation of AI know-how enables us to integrate generative AI functions into our solutions and offer our customers immediate added value.”
BI: What did they do wrong in 2023?
Müller: “I underestimated how important it is to meet our customers where they are. This year has proven that in-person meetings – like our annual developer and customer conferences at locations around the world – are just as important as virtual events. For us, the right balance between virtual and in-person meetings is key to fostering a dynamic and effective collaboration and work environment.”
This article was translated from English by Jonas Metzner. You can read the original article here read.
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