Editorial Note

AI is starting to make its presence felt across every area of business. More and more routine tasks are being given to AI to do, dramatically speeding up the pace of digitalisation. We see it, we feel it… but what impact is it making across the economy as a whole? To what extent is AI boosting productivity? How is it affecting Poland’s labour market? Is the regulatory environment keeping pace with the innovation?

This issue of Contact Magazine Online consists of four interviews and 23 articles, covering the spectrum of business sectors. Taken as a whole, they reveal a nuanced picture highlighting the use-cases where AI is making a difference and pointing the way forward.

The interviews:
Poland has become a strategic hub for processes that ensure resilient banking operations. Standard Chartered Poland’s CEO, Anna Urbańska, and the head of its Cyber Defence Centre, Przemysław Jaroszewski, discuss the ways Polish competence is shaping secure digital banking worldwide.

Bożena Roczniak, CEO of Ostendi HR says that as recruitment and assessment are becoming increasingly digitised, human input will still determine the quality of business outcomes.

James O’Neill, director, Avocet Clearance, explains how digitalisation is dramatically improving the cross-border flow of goods, standardising pricing and ensuring better compliance.

“AI won’t replace lawyers” says Marcin Durlak, managing partner of IMD Corporate, talking about digitalisation’s place in the legal profession; “lawyers who use AI will replace those who don’t.”

The articles:

AI and the national interest
Maciej Pilipczuk, CEO and president of the management board of Emitel S.A., considers smart cities, cyber security and sovereignty – and how a nation’s digital infrastructure determines its destiny.

AI in R&D and project management
AI lets us transform our ways of working, from R&D to daily productivity; leveraging AI properly will create competitive advantage in pharmaceutical sector, says Piotr Maślak from AstraZeneca.

Sebastian Andruszczak from Holisticon Connect explains how Polish software engineers support global pharma and biotech R&D.

Magdalena Kornaś-Owsiana from VML Enterprise Solutions notes the high failure rate associated with the implementation of corporate AI projects. Human-centric strategy is key.

AI in HR
Julia Malinowska from Hays identifies the three most common business responses to AI across CEE: upskilling/reskilling, outsourcing and downsizing.

How ready is Poland to embrace AI in white-collar jobs? Barbara Lesiak from Global Shared Services is optimistic when it comes to the future direction of AI’s influence.

Zuzanna Świątek from Staniek & Partners explains how the new Online Contract Management Act is revolutionising the way HR is conducted in Poland.

Use of AI in recruitment comes with new responsibilities, say Bartosz Wszeborowski and Julia Łuszczewska from PCS Paruch.

AI and real estate/construction
Bartosz Zamara from Trebbi Polska says that the construction sector, long a laggard when it comes to implementing tech solutions, can speed up its digital transformation thanks to AI.

Teodor Teter from Globalworth Poland outlines how property management is being reshaped by technology, to the benefit of landlord and tenant alike.

AI and language
Nataliya Horbachevska, CEO of Task Force takes a look at one business activity that cannot be fully outsourced to AI – translation.

Mariano Felice from the British Council considers the impact AI is having on education, and in particular, on language learning, on the way it is taught and how progress is assessed.

AI in banking and finance
If any profession is experiencing the immediate benefits of AI assistants, it is accountancy, says Agnieszka Jarosz from ACCA.

Michał Kurowski and Barbara Koźbiał from Strategy& look at the way digital payments and open banking are accelerating financial transformation in Europe.

Bibby Financial notes that Poland’s not been investing enough compared to its CEE neighbours. In particular, investment by SMEs has disappointed. The reasons are structural and cyclical.

E-invoicing is on the rise. But across jurisdictions, its implementation can differ. Bartłomiej Wójtowicz from Comarch explains the challenges this creates for cross-border business

Mikita Wojcieszonek from Forvis Mazars in Poland highlights the new categories of risk that AI has exposed businesses to, and sets out how to mitigate them.

Cyberattacks on businesses are becoming routine. Katarzyna Szczypiń from BNP Paribas Bank urges business leaders to make cybersecurity the bedrock of operations, not an optional extra.

Poland’s tax authorities have become increasingly to deal with crypto currencies, leaving little room for anonymity or non-compliance, say Paweł Goś and Klaudyna Matusiak-Frey from MDDP

How digitalisation affects the law – and how the law affects digitalisation
Regulation in health tech is a double-edged sword – building trust and market confidence, it also imposes compliance costs and delays, says Marcelina Sługocka from, Addleshaw Goddard

Digitalisation is transforming the way immigration is administered by the Polish state, observes Denis Ushakov at Dudkowiak & Putyra Business Lawyers.

Robert Brodzik from Kochański & Partners examines the EU Data Act and the new rights and responsibilities it confers on owners of data.

Mateusz Jankowski from Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka (DZP) considers the paradox of the IoT-powered smart home in the context of personal privacy.