When a system starts making recommendations, where does its authority end and our accountability begin?
On 14th October, more than 100 participants gathered around this question at Ložionica for the first Saga Executive Forum. The room brought together C-level executives, directors and decision-makers from a wide range of industries, including banking, finance, agriculture, energy, and IT. We didn’t talk about technology. We talked about decisions, people and accountability.
Here are the key messages from each speaker.
The Forum was opened by our CEO, Siniša Ljubojević, with his talk “Cost of Not Knowing”. He reminded the audience that Saga has not survived for 37 years thanks to tradition, but thanks to its ability to change, and that we may now be facing the biggest change yet. He spoke about the weak signals leaders must not miss, such as shifts in the job market for young professionals. He also stressed that everyone has access to AI tools today, so competitive advantage comes from what only your company knows: its people, projects and data.
Zoran Petrović of Raiffeisen Bank then shared the bank’s experience from 25 years of operating in Serbia. He showed that the transformation was not only technological, but above all a change in the way of working: agile teams, the move to the cloud, a team of data scientists, and training for all employees. He also talked about how the bank is introducing AI today.
In the conversation “Boardroom under Pressure”, moderated by Vesna Damjanić, Mihailo Janković of MK Group discussed how management boards make technology decisions in times of constant uncertainty. He explained that the question today is not only when an investment will pay off, but also what it costs not to invest. Strategy should be planned at least three years ahead, with alternative scenarios, and the starting point should always be a concrete business problem.
Branislav Zobenica, Director of Strategy and Innovation at Saga, used the story of an Ironman race to talk about making decisions amid the noise of information. He pointed out that AI increases personal productivity, but business value only comes with team productivity, when knowledge stays within the company and processes change. He also presented Saga’s IT 360 framework, in which the system analyses signals and recommends the next step, while a human makes the decision.
The line between human and machine was discussed by Prof. Dragan Lončar, PhD, of the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, and Petar Tomić, CFO of Saga. Professor Lončar explained that authority can be delegated to a system, but accountability cannot. He warned of a false sense of control when a person routinely approves hundreds of system recommendations. In his view, before introducing AI, organisations must clearly define who the owner is, where the boundaries lie and how to stop the system.
The special guest was Olympic champion Ivan Miljković, who spoke with Branislav about decisions made in a split second. He talked about taking responsibility for the last ball, about team trust, and about how a quick decision is the result of years of preparation. He also shared his experience of working with athletes after their careers and called on companies to give them a chance.
The Forum closed with the conversation “What We Heard”, in which Eldar Banjica of Manpower SEE and Siniša Ljubojević reflected on the day’s most important messages. They discussed how AI is changing the job market, why curiosity and continuous learning are becoming key qualities in hiring, and whether AI is a bubble. They agreed that judgement, accountability and leadership remain with people.
We began the Forum with the cost of what we don’t know, and ended with a clear message: technology can recommend, but accountability for the decision stays with us.
What is your company’s experience: where do you draw the line today between a system’s recommendation and a human decision?