Source:
- Sheerluxe, Published on January 29th, 2025.
What’s the most important thing business leaders or entrepreneurs need to be aware of?
“Leaders need to accept and understand what AI technology can do. I have lived through the internet boom and the initial AI comeback a decade ago in the form of machine learning. Both of these were waves of change in the IT industry that affected every aspect of our society and our lives. But I’ve never seen such a high speed of adoption as with generative AI. Even though the technology is young and not perfect, it is obvious that it fills a real need for most of us, individuals as well as businesses. Therefore, leaders must educate themselves in AI to learn the truth about its capabilities and risks. Use AI to solve a problem; do not invent a clever solution to a problem no one has. Be aware of the new risks that generative AI introduces, like hallucinations and toxicity, and allow use of AI accordingly for your own customers.” – Zorina Alliata, professor of responsible artificial intelligence, digital business & innovation at OPIT
Which industries do you predict will be most disrupted by AI in the next couple of years?
“The financial industry is always one of the first to adopt new technologies. Financial companies are already using generative AI for document processing, risk assessment, fraud prevention and algorithmic trading. Because of increased computing power, we also see AI growth in healthcare and life sciences for drug discovery and enhanced diagnostic procedures. Retail, education, logistics are also adopting AI at a high pace. Which industries will remain unaffected? None, really. Even in high-touch human professions like nursing, therapy, parenting, AI is a tool that can help. While not replacing the job entirely, the industry will change because the AI tools are changing the way the job is done.” – Zorina
Are there any new business models emerging due to AI advancements?
“I think we will see more AI-as-a-service (AIaaS) offerings, where AI tools are built on top of large language models and offer specific capabilities. This is an area where there is a lot of innovation, and I’m excited to see this develop further. I already use AIaaS on a daily basis for better writing, research, creating videos and presentations, and code debugging.” – Zorina
What are the biggest challenges for small businesses and start-ups in adopting AI technologies?
“A big risk is too much enthusiasm and optimism. Generative AI has been adopted at a great speed. When you first try it, it is amazing. It can write a whole paper in seconds. It can explain complex diagrams and concepts. It feels like the trusted assistant you always needed, but it’s important to remember that AI comes with risks. It’s one thing to write an AI service that recommends what movie you should watch next, and another thing to write an AI service that reads your X-ray and diagnoses if you have a tumour. These two applications of AI have very different risk thresholds. You need to plan your AI service or product to be appropriate for use and to minimise the risk for your customer. I’ve also seen start-ups that tried out an idea and are now planning to build a product out of it, without any understanding of what it takes to run AI services at scale. Having best practices implemented, a good operational foundation, governance and a clear operational model are all requisites for running any production systems, especially something as risky and fraught with unknowns as AI products are.” – Zorina
Which ethical considerations should entrepreneurs keep in mind when integrating AI into their businesses?
“Some considerations when creating your risk strategy for AI include data privacy and security (ensuring responsible collection and use of customer data); transparency (being clear about how AI is used in products or services); fairness and bias (addressing potential biases in AI algorithms); job displacement (considering the impact on employees and planning for transitions); accountability (establishing clear responsibility for AI-driven decisions); and environmental impact (considering the energy consumption of AI systems).” – Zorina
How is AI changing customer expectations?
“Customer expectations have gone up significantly since generative AI enabled better interactions. Customers expect omni-channel communications, immediate responses, and predictive service. For those companies that still have fragmented data in several platforms and lack a cohesive customer journey, the learning curve will be steeper. The good news is, there are a lot of innovations in this area.” – Zorina
What skills do you think entrepreneurs will need to succeed in an AI-dominated business world?
“Some skills that would be useful include:
- AI literacy: understanding the basics of AI, machine learning and data science.
- Data analysis & interpretation: ability to work with and derive insights from large datasets.
- Strategic thinking: identifying where AI can add value to business processes and products.
- Ethical decision-making: navigating the ethical implications of AI implementation.
- Adaptability & continuous learning: keeping up with rapidly evolving AI technologies.
- Human-AI collaboration: effectively working alongside AI systems.
- Soft skills: creativity, critical thinking, emotional intelligence and leadership will become even more valuable as AI handles more routine tasks.
As a leader, you are not required to write code or figure out the best way to deploy your model, but a high-level understanding of what AI can do will help you have meaningful conversations with your technical team and create AI products that are truly useful.” – Zorina
Finally, how will AI impact the workforce this year?
“There are several studies on this, such as the one the World Economic Forum (WEF) released this month about the status of work and the future of jobs. Some of the highlights are that AI and other technologies will continue to broaden digital access, with a first effect on increased demand for AI and data skills. The number of technology-related roles is the fastest growing, but frontline roles like farmworkers, delivery drivers and construction workers are predicted to see the largest growth. AI has evolved quickly to create images and videos, threatening the jobs of designers and movie producers. It was not what we would have predicted a few years ago. AI has a way of growing in unexpected ways, as we discover new paths of research and innovate ways to use it. I personally think it is hard to predict exactly where AI will go, and what will be the result of automating all routine tasks and behaving closer to humans. One thing we can be sure of is that people who understand AI and know how to use it will benefit from whatever new challenges are coming our way.” – Zorina
Read the full article below:
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From the same author
Read the articleSource:
- Times of Malta, published on September 18th, 2025
4 min read
The gathering brought together academics and technology leaders from prominent European Institutions, such as Instituto de Empresa (IE University), OPIT itself and the Royal College of Arts, to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the university experience.
The OPIT AI Copilot has been trained on the institute’s complete academic archive, a collection created over the past three years that includes 131 courses, more than 3,500 hours of recorded lectures, 7,500 study resources, 320 certified assessments, and thousands of exercises and original learning documents.
Unlike generic AI tools, the Copilot is deeply integrated with OPIT’s learning management system, allowing it to track each student’s progress and provide tailored support.
This integration means the assistant can reference relevant sources within the learning environment, adapt to the student’s stage of study, and ensure that unreleased course content remains inaccessible.
A mobile app is also scheduled for release this autumn, that will allow students to download exercise and access other tools.
During examinations, the Copilot automatically switches to what the institute calls an “anti-cheating mode”, restricting itself to general research support rather than providing direct answers.
For OPIT’s international community of 500 students from nearly 100 countries, many of whom balance studies with full-time work, the ability to access personalised assistance at any time of day is a key advantage.
“Eighty-five per cent of students are already using large language models in some way to study,” said OPIT founder and director Riccardo Ocleppo. “We wanted to go further by creating a solution tailored to our own community, reflecting the real experiences of remote learners and working professionals.”
Tool aims to cut correction time by 30%
The Copilot will also reduce administrative burdens for faculty. It can help grade assignments, generate new educational materials, and create rubrics that allow teachers to cut correction time by as much as 30 per cent.
According to OPIT, this will free up staff to dedicate more time to teaching and direct student engagement.
At the Milan event, Rector Francesco Profumo underlined the broader implications of AI in higher education. “We are in the midst of a deep transformation, where AI is no longer just a tool: it is an environment that radically changes how we learn, teach, and create,” he said.
“But it is not a shortcut. It is a cultural, ethical, and pedagogical challenge, and to meet it we must have the courage to rethink traditional models and build bridges between human and artificial intelligence.”
OPIT was joined on stage by representatives from other leading institutions, including Danielle Barrios O’Neill of the Royal College of Art, who spoke about the role of AI in art and creativity, and Francisco Machin of IE University, who discussed applications in business and management education.
OPIT student Asya Mantovani, also employed at a leading technology and consulting firm in Italy, gave a first-hand account of balancing professional life with online study.
The assistant has been in development for the past eight months, involving a team of OPIT professors, researchers, and engineers.
Ocleppo stressed that OPIT intends to make its AI innovations available beyond its own institution. “We want to put technology at the service of higher education,” he said.
“Our goal is to develop solutions not only for our own students, but also to share with global institutions eager to innovate the learning experience in a future that is approaching very quickly.”
Read the articleFrom personalization to productivity: AI at the heart of the educational experience.
Click this link to read and download the e-book.
At its core, teaching is a simple endeavour. The experienced and learned pass on their knowledge and wisdom to new generations. Nothing has changed in that regard. What has changed is how new technologies emerge to facilitate that passing on of knowledge. The printing press, computers, the internet – all have transformed how educators teach and how students learn.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the next game-changer in the educational space.
Specifically, AI agents have emerged as tools that utilize all of AI’s core strengths, such as data gathering and analysis, pattern identification, and information condensing. Those strengths have been refined, first into simple chatbots capable of providing answers, and now into agents capable of adapting how they learn and adjusting to the environment in which they’re placed. This adaptability, in particular, makes AI agents vital in the educational realm.
The reasons why are simple. AI agents can collect, analyse, and condense massive amounts of educational material across multiple subject areas. More importantly, they can deliver that information to students while observing how the students engage with the material presented. Those observations open the door for tweaks. An AI agent learns alongside their student. Only, the agent’s learning focuses on how it can adapt its delivery to account for a student’s strengths, weaknesses, interests, and existing knowledge.
Think of an AI agent like having a tutor – one who eschews set lesson plans in favour of an adaptive approach designed and tweaked constantly for each specific student.
In this eBook, the Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) will take you on a journey through the world of AI agents as they pertain to education. You will learn what these agents are, how they work, and what they’re capable of achieving in the educational sector. We also explore best practices and key approaches, focusing on how educators can use AI agents to the benefit of their students. Finally, we will discuss other AI tools that both complement and enhance an AI agent’s capabilities, ensuring you deliver the best possible educational experience to your students.
-
Go to all authors
Related posts
Source:
- Times of Malta, published on September 18th, 2025
4 min read
The gathering brought together academics and technology leaders from prominent European Institutions, such as Instituto de Empresa (IE University), OPIT itself and the Royal College of Arts, to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the university experience.
The OPIT AI Copilot has been trained on the institute’s complete academic archive, a collection created over the past three years that includes 131 courses, more than 3,500 hours of recorded lectures, 7,500 study resources, 320 certified assessments, and thousands of exercises and original learning documents.
Unlike generic AI tools, the Copilot is deeply integrated with OPIT’s learning management system, allowing it to track each student’s progress and provide tailored support.
This integration means the assistant can reference relevant sources within the learning environment, adapt to the student’s stage of study, and ensure that unreleased course content remains inaccessible.
A mobile app is also scheduled for release this autumn, that will allow students to download exercise and access other tools.
During examinations, the Copilot automatically switches to what the institute calls an “anti-cheating mode”, restricting itself to general research support rather than providing direct answers.
For OPIT’s international community of 500 students from nearly 100 countries, many of whom balance studies with full-time work, the ability to access personalised assistance at any time of day is a key advantage.
“Eighty-five per cent of students are already using large language models in some way to study,” said OPIT founder and director Riccardo Ocleppo. “We wanted to go further by creating a solution tailored to our own community, reflecting the real experiences of remote learners and working professionals.”
Tool aims to cut correction time by 30%
The Copilot will also reduce administrative burdens for faculty. It can help grade assignments, generate new educational materials, and create rubrics that allow teachers to cut correction time by as much as 30 per cent.
According to OPIT, this will free up staff to dedicate more time to teaching and direct student engagement.
At the Milan event, Rector Francesco Profumo underlined the broader implications of AI in higher education. “We are in the midst of a deep transformation, where AI is no longer just a tool: it is an environment that radically changes how we learn, teach, and create,” he said.
“But it is not a shortcut. It is a cultural, ethical, and pedagogical challenge, and to meet it we must have the courage to rethink traditional models and build bridges between human and artificial intelligence.”
OPIT was joined on stage by representatives from other leading institutions, including Danielle Barrios O’Neill of the Royal College of Art, who spoke about the role of AI in art and creativity, and Francisco Machin of IE University, who discussed applications in business and management education.
OPIT student Asya Mantovani, also employed at a leading technology and consulting firm in Italy, gave a first-hand account of balancing professional life with online study.
The assistant has been in development for the past eight months, involving a team of OPIT professors, researchers, and engineers.
Ocleppo stressed that OPIT intends to make its AI innovations available beyond its own institution. “We want to put technology at the service of higher education,” he said.
“Our goal is to develop solutions not only for our own students, but also to share with global institutions eager to innovate the learning experience in a future that is approaching very quickly.”
From personalization to productivity: AI at the heart of the educational experience.
Click this link to read and download the e-book.
At its core, teaching is a simple endeavour. The experienced and learned pass on their knowledge and wisdom to new generations. Nothing has changed in that regard. What has changed is how new technologies emerge to facilitate that passing on of knowledge. The printing press, computers, the internet – all have transformed how educators teach and how students learn.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the next game-changer in the educational space.
Specifically, AI agents have emerged as tools that utilize all of AI’s core strengths, such as data gathering and analysis, pattern identification, and information condensing. Those strengths have been refined, first into simple chatbots capable of providing answers, and now into agents capable of adapting how they learn and adjusting to the environment in which they’re placed. This adaptability, in particular, makes AI agents vital in the educational realm.
The reasons why are simple. AI agents can collect, analyse, and condense massive amounts of educational material across multiple subject areas. More importantly, they can deliver that information to students while observing how the students engage with the material presented. Those observations open the door for tweaks. An AI agent learns alongside their student. Only, the agent’s learning focuses on how it can adapt its delivery to account for a student’s strengths, weaknesses, interests, and existing knowledge.
Think of an AI agent like having a tutor – one who eschews set lesson plans in favour of an adaptive approach designed and tweaked constantly for each specific student.
In this eBook, the Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) will take you on a journey through the world of AI agents as they pertain to education. You will learn what these agents are, how they work, and what they’re capable of achieving in the educational sector. We also explore best practices and key approaches, focusing on how educators can use AI agents to the benefit of their students. Finally, we will discuss other AI tools that both complement and enhance an AI agent’s capabilities, ensuring you deliver the best possible educational experience to your students.
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