Creating Real AI Value: Governance, Costs and the Data Foundations That Matter

How do organisations move beyond deploying AI tools and begin creating measurable, sustainable value?In this episode of Databricks Diaries, Andy Davis speaks with Alexandra Diem, Tribe Lead and SVP for Data, Analytics and AI at Gjensidige, about the practical realities of implementing AI within a large, regulated organisation.Alexandra explains how her team began by using generative AI to remove tedious and repetitive work for analysts. However, the project quickly exposed a wider challenge: AI is only as useful as the data, metadata and documentation supporting it.They discuss why data governance, join logic, business definitions and semantic layers are becoming increasingly important as organisations introduce natural-language access to data.The conversation also explores the changing economics of AI. As developers become more productive with tools such as GitHub Copilot, organisations must consider model selection, token consumption and FinOps practices to ensure that increased productivity does not create uncontrolled costs.Andy and Alexandra also examine the difficulty of proving the value of internally focused AI initiatives, where the connection between investment and revenue is often less visible than it is with customer-facing products.Topics covered include:• Identifying genuine organisational problems before selecting an AI solution• Using AI to automate repetitive analytical work• Why metadata and documentation are critical for trustworthy AI• Building automated governance into the data platform• Managing AI consumption, model selection and token costs• Balancing short-term business cases with longer-term AI investment• Creating effective semantic layers for people and AI• Why back-office processes may offer the greatest immediate AI opportunity• Helping developers use AI productively without becoming overly dependent on itAlexandra’s central advice is simple: do not begin by asking what you can automate with AI. Begin by identifying where users are getting stuck, where processes slow down and where handovers create friction. Those bottlenecks are often where AI can generate the most meaningful value.Databricks Diaries is hosted by Andy Davis and explores how organisations are using data, analytics and AI to deliver practical business outcomes.