Reinventing Business with AI: An after-work event hosted by UDITIS and CSEM on artificial intelligence, Thursday, November 12, 2026
On November 12 in Neuchâtel, UDITIS and CSEM are bringing together SME executives to discuss artificial intelligence. Thierry Linder, CEO of UDITIS, will present an idea that runs counter to the prevailing view: the model chosen matters far less than what the company builds around it.
Generative AI has been making its way into offices for the past three or four years. Employees have completed their training, and the AI assistant has become a work companion, a co-pilot—you get the idea. In most companies, things have stopped there. The next step is less obvious: integrating these tools into the processes themselves to improve and automate them. This is the question Thierry Linder will raise at the start of the “Reinventing the Company with AI” after-work event, with a presentation titled “AI in Everyday Life: Uses, Tools, and Concrete Benefits.”
An After-Work Event That Breaks the Mold
UDITIS regularly organizes these end-of-day gatherings centered on a topical issue. The format remains deliberately traditional: two presentations followed by a panel discussion.
“The difference lies in the substance,” explains Thierry Linder. “We want to think outside the box and approach the topic from a different angle than that of typical conferences. ”
For this edition, UDITIS is partnering with CSEM, the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology, one of its clients. The Neuchâtel-based center is unique in that it operates on both sides of AI: it uses AI at the core of its solutions – for example, to process data measured by its sensors – and also develops its own models. The audience will therefore hear the same topic from two perspectives: that of an IT service provider that supports SMEs on a daily basis, and that of a research center that designs the technology. Serge Morisod, CDIO (Chief Digital Information Officer) at CSEM, will then take the floor to discuss the effects of AI on organizational efficiency, value chains, and business models.
Shadow AI
Thierry Linder’s first message is directed at executives who still think AI is just on the horizon for their companies:
“To say that no one is using it in-house is a mistake. It is being used – simply outside of any formal framework.”
AI has become part of “shadow IT” – those tools that employees adopt without going through the IT department. The risk is twofold. Sensitive data is circulating through systems that no one has approved, and scattered uses incur costs without yielding any benefits. Before embarking on any project, it is therefore essential to identify who is using what – and how – so that these uses can then be governed and value extracted from them.
The Model: A False Debate
Thierry Linder doesn’t dwell on the choice of model. He’s not particularly interested in which one tops the weekly rankings:
“Models change every week.
That’s not where the difference lies. ”
According to him, the difference lies in what English speakers call the “harness”: the entire context in which the model operates, from the company’s data to its methods and even the way it expresses itself.
For years, users have been taught to refine their prompts. For Thierry Linder, the key lies elsewhere.
“With the same prompt, the response will vary depending on the quality of the context. If that context reflects the company’s culture, the model won’t stray into the standardized responses that everyone recognizes.”
A company can then choose its models based on performance, price, or confidentiality needs, without compromising the quality of its results.
From Doing to Having Done
This presentation is aimed at executives of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and large SMBs who must decide on their next investments.
“The issue is no longer technological. It’s about the value that AI can bring and where to implement it first.”
The challenge, in his view, is not to work less but to work differently: to shift from “doing” to “having done,” by entrusting entire processes to AI rather than isolated tasks.
Finally, Thierry Linder will present several use cases implemented at UDITIS across various business lines. To those who are still on the fence, he offers some straightforward advice: “They’d better hurry, there won’t be any spots left soon! ”
Practical information
📍 Location: CSEM, Rue Jaquet-Droz 1, 2002 Neuchâtel – Musicienne Room
📅 Date: Thursday, November 12, 2026
⏰ Time: 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.