Generative AI: A Conversation with Natacha Njongwa
Natacha Njongwa is a Data Science consultant and trainer specialized in credit risk, helping financial institutions modernize their models through data and AI. In this interview, she shares how generative AI is reshaping decision-making and productivity, and why human expertise remains at the core of responsible AI adoption.
Hi Natacha, thank you for joining us for this edition of Talent-R Tech Talks and for sharing your insights with us. To begin, in your “The AI Advantage” challenge, how did you see generative AI stimulating creativity in organizations??
“What I’ve observed is that the most productive teams use generative AI to delegate repetitive tasks: writing first drafts, summarizing, researching information, preparing plans… By freeing up time, they can focus on strategic thinking and innovation.
In companies, we are also seeing the emergence of what is known as shadow AI, where employees use personal AI tools to be more efficient, even without an official AI strategy of the company. While this reveals AI’s creative potential, it also carries risks related to data confidentiality, regulatory non-compliance, and loss of control over the quality and sources.
Therefore, shadow AI shows what AI can do, but above all, it highlights the urgent need to create a clear, secure, and educational framework to channel this productivity in the right direction.”
“AI doesn’t replace professionals; it replaces those who don’t use it.”
Concerns about AI replacing jobs are becoming increasingly common. In this context, what would you say to those who think AI is replacing their jobs?
“AI will indeed replace certain jobs, but that doesn’t mean it’s replacing your job, or you. It takes over repetitive tasks, not human thinking, curiosity, or initiative.
Studies and my experience show that the most in-demand skills by 2030 will be AI and big data proficiency, technological literacy, creativity, continuous learning, resilience, analytical skills, leadership and influence…
In short, AI doesn’t replace professionals — it replaces those who don’t use it. Developing these skills is key to staying relevant as AI augments human talent.”
In your projects, what are the keys to enabling humans and AI to co-create effectively?
“In all my projects, three elements make the difference. The first is my ability to think and structure: AI never does my work for me. I am the one who directs it, clarifies the objective, the context, and the constraints. I see myself as the AI manager: without clear thinking, AI produces nothing clear.
The second is my perspective and business expertise. AI has neither my context, nor my challenges, nor my constraints. It is excellent for ideas, drafts, and speed, but we are the ones who provide relevance. Business expertise remains the essential layer for challenging and refining proposals.
Finally, the third point is my ability to verify and arbitrate. Because AI can produce false, but very convincing answers. The final quality therefore always depends on our critical review. AI is an accelerator, not a replacement for thinking.”
In practice, do you have an example where generative AI has increased the creativity or productivity of a team?
“When it comes to creativity, there is still no consensus that AI is creative. But in terms of productivity, a Microsoft Research study analyzing 200,000 conversations with Copilot shows that generative AI brings maximum value in four major categories of professional activities:
Information search: this is the most frequent activity. Users ask AI to gather information, obtain data on products or services, keep their knowledge up to date, and read documents. This category represents the largest share of usage and achieves the highest satisfaction rates.
Content writing and editing: developing content, writing commercial or artistic texts, editing documents, creating visual designs. Before, writing a post took me an average of one hour; today, with AI, I can write the same post in fifteen minutes.
External communication: providing information to customers, responding to requests, explaining technical details, clarifying regulations.
Advice, support, and teaching: AI plays a service role—advising, training, guiding. Many people use AI as a coach or personal advisor.
Beyond these four categories, code production deserves special mention. The Microsoft Research study ranks “Computer Science and Mathematics” among the professional groups with the highest AI applicability scores. With the rise of vibe coding, applications that once took a week to develop can now be built in just three hours — even by people who have never coded before.”
Based on your experience at LDA Advisory, what ethical precautions do you recommend for the responsible use of generative AI?
“When using AI, three essential points must be considered. First, AI can produce very convincing factual errors, which makes human verification mandatory. Second, AI can reproduce and amplify biases inherited from its training data, including gender, cultural, socioeconomic, confirmation, and time-related biases.
To mitigate these risks, it is essential to diversify prompts, cross-check results, remain especially vigilant in sensitive areas such as HR, health, finance, and legal, and regularly audit AI outputs.
This is why the “human in the loop” approach is critical: humans must always validate, arbitrate, and contextualize results, as no current AI can bear full operational or ethical responsibility on its own.”
And finally, how do you think generative AI will transform innovation and work in companies?
“We don’t yet fully understand the real gains, but one thing is certain: job expectations will change. Companies will want certain tasks to be completed faster, jobs will evolve toward more management, analysis, design, arbitration, and the most effective organizations will be those that decentralize adoption (empowering teams in the field) while maintaining strong governance.
The key question everyone should be asking themselves is: “With the evolution of AI, what will be expected of me in three years? And what skills do I need to develop now?” Those who ask themselves this question and take action will not fear AI. They will turn it into an opportunity to become faster, more creative, and more relevant.”
