Web Summit Rio

Targeting people’s real problems keeps AI teams engaged

Prominent leaders spoke to The Brazilian Report's deputy editor Fabiane Ziolla Menezes on the Web Summit Rio center stage Wednesday

web summit
Emily Chiu, TBD at Block; Ludmila Pontremolez, Zippi and The Brazilian Report’s Fabiane Ziolla Menezes on center stage at Web Summit Rio 2024. Photo: Web Summit

Generative AI, machine learning, open-source models. The impact of all these technologies can be as broad as the amount of data on the Internet. With so many possibilities and also uncertainties, how can we keep teams that work with these techs engaged?

In the case of TBD at Block and Zippi, two tech companies that work to make financial services more inclusive, the answer to that is straightforward: considering real people’s problems and the impact that new digital features can have on their lives.

This is what Emily Chiu, from TBD, and Ludmila Pontremolez, from Zippi, stated at the Web Summit’s panel “Leading through the AI era,” conducted by The Brazilian Report‘s deputy editor Fabiane Ziolla Menezes at the event’s center stage, on Wednesday.

Both panelists lead teams that develop solutions for a huge and critical issue: the barriers that many people around the world face when seeking credit and other financial products, simply because traditional banks do not have access to their information in order to assess the risk of operations. 

According to Ms. Chiu, close to a billion people, especially in the Global South, do not even have identity credentials. 

In the case of micro and small businesses, a problem arises, for example, when personal and business resources are managed through the same bank account, Ms. Pontremolez explained.

To face these scenarios, artificial intelligence can explore alternative data sources and understand behavioral patterns, in addition to improving customer support and internal productivity. 

The new digital solutions, of course, come with new challenges, as well as their own biases and dangers — another subject Fabiane Ziolla Menezes brought up for discussion. 

Check out the conversation in full below: