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I help company boards and executives build AI literacy and develop adoption strategies…
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Simon Kriss shared thisOn the 1st of April I was honoured to share a stage with wonderful Dr Jon Whittle. We were together for the ADAPT Data and AI Edge event in Sydney. Thanks to Jim and Anthony for the opportunity. We elected to go with a powerpoint free conversation and also decided to go in unscripted and unrehearsed. While this sounds terrifying for most, it was strangely liberating as we let the conversation go where it did. We were discussing what sovereignty in AI and data means in reality for organisations. We spoke back and forth about the 5 levels of AI sovereignty. * Level 1 - is the physical compute. Where it is? Who owns it? Who operates it? * Level 2 - is the foundational models. Where are they built? What data & bias was used? Who controls them? Where are they inferenced? * Level 3 - the application level. Again, built by who? Who supports them? Where is your data going for processing? * Level 4 - the agentic layer. Where is the agentic process built and stored? What access does it have and where might that data go? What are the sovereign data (cyber security) risks of the tools AND the connectors? * Level 5 - (rightly pointed by Jon as the key layer) is the responsible/safe/ethical layer. What policies, guidelines, governance and controls are you using? How do you make sure you comply with sovereign regulations? If you would like to take a listen (30 mins): https://lnkd.in/gMAejBSz And in case you are wondering ..... Yes, I definitely had imposter syndrome sitting alongside Jon.
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Simon Kriss shared thisDoing this podcast was a whole lot of fun. The conversation just flowed, nothing rehearsed or planned just a great chat with Andrew Lai and Amir Nissen .... Thanks guys!Simon Kriss shared thisIs my data actually safe when I use AI tools? Honestly? It's complicated. And it's worth understanding before you go further with AI in your business. In the latest episode of ROI from AI podcast, Andrew Lai and Amir Nissen spoke with Simon Kriss, CEO of Sovereign Australia AI, about something most Australian businesses haven't thought about yet. Here are a few things that came up that every SME owner should know: 🔹 Australia ranks near the bottom globally for trusting AI in a corporate setting. We're happy to use it at home. At work? Different story. 🔹 There's a piece of US legislation called the Cloud Act. It means the US government can access data sitting on any American-owned server, anywhere in the world, without notifying you or your provider. 🔹 Most AI tools your business uses today run on servers in the US. That's not necessarily a dealbreaker, but it's something you should understand before you feed sensitive business data into them. 🔹 Simon believes the businesses that get AI literacy right in the next 12 months will have a massive edge over those that rush in blind. The good news? You don't need to figure this out alone. SMEC AI is a government-supported program built specifically to help Australian small and medium businesses adopt AI with confidence, and with the right guidance behind them. If you've been sitting on the fence about AI, or using it without really knowing the risks, this episode is worth your time. https://lnkd.in/dKgT_qzj Big thanks to Simon Kriss for a genuinely honest conversation about where Australia stands and where it needs to go. #roifromai #smecai #aiaustralia #smallbusiness #sme #australianbusiness #artificialintelligence #aidataprivacy #aiadoption #sovereignai #digitaltransformation #futureofwork #aiforsmallbusiness #australiantech #businessgrowth
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Simon Kriss shared this"Sovereignty means you own the resource that will set the tone for the 21st century." Great quote by Nina Schick and I agree completely. Views on sovereignty in AI abound and I have always appreciated Nina's take on this subject. In the dying seconds of this interview, Nina says that it is not so much about the models as it is the infrastructure. Not sure I agree there. I believe all layers of the AI stack need a level of sovereignty. There is a discussion to be had here between frontier and foundational models - but let's leave that for another day. The 2-minute video below is certainly worth the watch.
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Simon Kriss shared thisIt was such a great day with ADAPT, yesterday and having the opportunity to record a podcast with my good friend Anthony Saba was the icing on the cake.Simon Kriss shared thisAnother ADAPT Edge Event in the books for 2026. 200 data leaders and a lot to unpack. Unsurprisingly, data maturity is still a constraint ~40% of leaders are pointing to data foundations as the primary barrier to scaling AI. But after having the chance to interview Jon Whittle and Simon Kriss throughout the day, we explored a different lens. And I know its starting to sound like a broken record… but it keeps showing up. Most scale challenges are not technology problems. They are people, culture, and process problems first. We need to shift from asking "how do we use AI" to "why do we use AI": ➡️ What does our business look like if AI is embedded at the core of how we operate? ➡️ How does this technology help us deliver on our purpose? It forces alignment at the leadership level, clarity of purpose and a rethink of how work actually gets done. And this is where most organisations are stuck. Not because they lack the tech (sometimes, sure), but because they haven’t aligned clearly around it. The organisations making real progress aren’t chasing isolated use cases. They’re rethinking how they operate with AI as a core part of delivering on their mission.
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Simon Kriss shared thisHere is some sound advice from my good friend and industry colleague Joe Locandro. Well worth the few minutes to read .... https://lnkd.in/g-yyDUBJHow a CIO guides agentic AI with structured governance | TechTargetHow a CIO guides agentic AI with structured governance | TechTarget
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Simon Kriss shared thisSuper excited to be back at Data &AI Edge by ADAPT in Sydney. Great work by Jim Berry and the wider Adapt team, especially Joey Meynink as the MC of the year! #dataaiedge
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Simon Kriss shared this🎙 AI in 5 .. 🎙 Chatbots are not just chatbots - same for voice bots. In this episode I chat with Mike Banbrook. Mike is CEO at Convai. Mike and I chat about the fallacy that setting up a chatbot or voice bot is simply a 'download the app and launch it'. We explore the interplay between Generative Ai and Traditional AI in this great 5 minute discussion. Can't wait to get new episodes here? You can now find us on Spotify and YouTube by searching for 'AI in 5 minicast'....
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Simon Kriss shared thisI look forward to being back with the ADAPT team for Data & AI Edge this week .....Simon Kriss shared thisTech vendors keep selling AI scale. But as Simon Kriss, AI Expert and ADAPT Advisor, explained during his Data & AI Edge keynote, boards aren’t only asking how fast AI can run. They’re asking how safely it can be governed. As CDAOs take on greater accountability, vendors need to shift from pitching capability to enabling confidence: ✅ Make governance tangible for CDAOs Show how your solution fits into decision-making workflows. Make it clear who approves what, when, and why. ✅ Give boards more than visibility Show the mechanisms that support ethical trade-offs. Make it easier to trace decisions and explain them under pressure. ✅ Build capability, not dependence Support internal fluency with practical frameworks and learning pathways, not just tools or dashboards. At Data & AI Edge on 1 April 2026 at Hilton Sydney, over 250 executive leaders will unpack what it takes to govern AI at scale, and what they need from their tech partners to do it. Read more on why trust, not scale, now defines AI vendor relevance: ap1.hubs.ly/y0JRX20 simonkriss.ai Sovereign AI #DataAIEdge #ADAPTGTM
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Simon Kriss shared thisGreat to be a part of the discussion at the NorthLink AI Summit in Broadmeadows. It is always fun to be helping SME businesses to understand how to leverage AI. The opening address from Hon Danny Pearson was terrific and focused on how we balance the need for pace in securing the advantages of AI while making sure the guardrails keep those advantages in check. He also discussed the opportunity to become an exporter of AI to Asia but this mandates strategic investment. He encouraged everyone to be bold about AI and Data Centres - could not agree more. Fun to be sharing the stage with my marketing guru and great friend Brett Bonser. For my part I am part of a panel talking about cyber and governance as it relates to AI.
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Simon Kriss reacted on thisSimon Kriss reacted on thisClaude has reached AGI. —————————- I’m currently building Villani Code, a local-first coding agent that beats Claude Code on small model benchmarks. GitHub: https://lnkd.in/gxUUHAvB
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Simon Kriss liked thisSimon Kriss liked thisThe US Cloud Act lets the American government compel companies like AWS, Google, and Microsoft to hand over data from any server they own or lease, anywhere in the world. That includes servers sitting in Sydney. And those companies are legally not allowed to tell you it happened. You would never know. Most Australian businesses assume that because their data is stored in an Australian data centre, it is protected by Australian law. But if the infrastructure is owned by a US company, the Cloud Act applies regardless of where the server physically sits. Simon Kriss, CEO of Sovereign Australia AI, also flagged something that is hard to ignore. He joined Andrew Lai and Amir Nissen on ROI from AI for the full conversation. 👇 #aiaustralia #dataprivacy #sovereignai #cybersecurity #smallbusiness #australianbusiness #aiadoption #cloudact #smecai #roifromai
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Simon Kriss liked thisSimon Kriss liked thisAI adoption in Australia is rising — but our economic returns will depend on skills, not just use. I have seen two great reports this week on AI adoption and workforce skills, which I think highlights an important turning point for Australia’s economy. RMIT Online's report on Beyond Prompting: Measuring the Generational AI Gap and MYOB's report on SMEs and the AI Advantage. AI use is now widespread. Around 84% of Australian workers report using at least one AI tool, and many SMEs are already seeing productivity gains from adoption. In some cases, AI‑enabled businesses are growing 2.8 times faster and freeing up time for higher‑value work. But the same research points to a growing risk: use is outpacing capability. More than half of the workforce (54%) still sits at a beginner level of AI literacy. Many people can use AI tools, but fewer can confidently: - assess the quality and reliability of outputs - identify bias or risk - apply AI strategically rather than tactically From an economic perspective, that matters. Productivity gains from AI don’t come just from automation, but from good judgement — knowing where AI adds value and where it doesn’t. The RMIT data also shows uneven impacts across the workforce: - younger workers tend to adopt AI quickly, sometimes with more confidence than capability - senior workers and leaders are often more cautious, which can slow adoption in areas where AI could lift productivity most Both patterns have economic consequences: misuse creates risk and rework, while under‑use leaves potential gains unrealised. For SMEs, the opportunity is particularly significant. AI can be a powerful productivity multiplier, but many smaller businesses are adopting it without structured training or clear guidance. Over time, that could limit the scale and durability of the gains. What stands out is that AI literacy has real, measurable economic value. Higher levels of AI capability are associated with higher wages, stronger productivity and better workforce outcomes. At a national level, even modest improvements in AI literacy could translate into billions of dollars in economic benefit. This suggests the next phase of Australia’s AI agenda is less about driving adoption alone, and more about building skills at scale - particularly in critical evaluation, responsible use and practical application. In summary, I think that the economic dividend from AI will depend not just on how widely it is used, but on how well it is used by all Australians. Would love to hear your thoughts on this research, and other reports you're seeing out there! #AILiteracy #ResponsibleAI #AIforSMEs #AIAustralia https://lnkd.in/gj9AaJZE
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Simon Kriss liked thisSimon Kriss liked thisIt becomes official once the sign is up!!! Our new SHARON AI office is thriving in North Sydney. Allowing us to be closer to partners within our ecosystem. What I love the most is walking in each day to a full house of super smart, positive, energetic teams all working towards a common end goal! Lets go team #SHAZ!!! James Pickens
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Sovereign Australia AI
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The AI Empowered Customer Experience
CXII
See publicationA customer experience practitioners guide to the adoption of artificial intelligence
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