Deloitte, HEC Paris, and the HEC Foundation Launch the “AI for Business Innovation” Chair: Innovating for Responsible, Value-Creating Artificial Intelligence

As the European Union progressively implements the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act and the European AI Office becomes operational, the issue of trust, performance, and governance of artificial intelligence systems is emerging more than ever as a strategic challenge for all organisations. Against this backdrop, Deloitte France and French-speaking Africa, HEC Paris, and its Foundation have announced the creation of the “AI for Business Innovation” Research Chair, dedicated to exploring the scientific and economic foundations of trustworthy AI and supporting its responsible adoption within companies.

This initiative aims to bridge the gap between academic research and operational practice in order to accelerate the rollout of high-performance, ethical, and auditable artificial intelligence systems, thereby fostering competitiveness and sustainable innovation.

The Chair’s work will focus on identifying how to enhance the reliability, transparency, and fairness of AI models while maintaining their operational effectiveness.

An Ambitious Scientific Program

By combining HEC Paris’s academic excellence with Deloitte’s operational expertise, the Chair aims to forge closer ties between research and practice in order to offer concrete and scientifically sound solutions.

Under the leadership of Christophe Pérignon, Professor of Finance and Dean of Research at HEC Paris, the research will focus on:

• Developing new methodologies and advanced techniques to enable the safe, interpretable, and fair rollout of AI systems;
• Studying methods for measuring the economic performance and return on investment (ROI) of AI applications, with the aim of linking technological innovation to business impact;
• Contributing to the European regulatory and ethical debate, especially with regard to the AI Act, with a view to defining governance standards and audit methods tailored to businesses.

This research will lead to international publications and practical methodologies that will enable organizations to assess the robustness, compliance, and added value of their artificial intelligence models.

A Shared Vision for Trustworthy, High-Performance, and Human-Centered AI

Through this initiative, Deloitte and HEC Paris aim to strengthen trust and innovation in artificial intelligence by promoting an approach that is both scientific and ethical, yet pragmatic.

The Chair’s work aims to support corporate transformation and train future leaders in the responsible and sustainable use of AI as a driver of performance and collective progress.

“By fully embracing our responsibility and placing transparency and ethics at the heart of our work, we are placing artificial intelligence at the service of the business world. In a world where AI is already transforming finance, commerce, and industry, this Chair will enable us to better understand its mechanisms and support its rollout in a responsible, sustainable, and transparent manner,” said David Dupont-Noel, CEO of Deloitte France and French-speaking Africa.

“This Research Chair will provide a unique setting for conducting cutting-edge scientific research that is directly applicable to business challenges. Drawing on Deloitte’s expertise, we will design audit methods for AI models that will facilitate the practical implementation of the new European regulatory requirements for AI. We will also highlight, for our students, real-world examples of large-scale rollouts of high-performance AI solutions whose economic viability has been clearly demonstrated,” explains Christophe Pérignon, professor and Chairholder.