Mission-Critical Generative AI in Action • Scott Shaw • YOW! 2025

This presentation was recorded at YOW! Australia 2025. #GOTOcon #YOW
https://yowcon.com

Scott Shaw - Crew Lead, GenAI Platform at Commonwealth Bank

ORIGINAL TALK TITLE
Mission-Critical Generative AI in Action: Delivering Safety, Reliability, and Customer Value

RESOURCES
https://github.com/scottwshaw
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-shaw-b4003a4

Links
https://www.cio.com/article/3850763/88-of-ai-pilots-fail-to-reach-production-but-thats-not-all-on-it.html
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ninety-percent-of-ceos-are-waiting-for-genai-to-move-past-the-hype-or-experimenting-in-small-ways-302033314.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonsnyder/2025/08/26/mit-finds-95-of-genai-pilots-fail-because-companies-avoid-friction
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/foundry/openai/concepts/model-retirements

ABSTRACT
In the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI, financial services organisations face unique challenges when implementing these technologies at enterprise scale within Australia's regulated environment. This presentation explores deploying mission-critical generative AI applications that balance safety and regulatory requirements with tangible customer value, addressing the practical realities of resilience, cost efficiency, model selection optimisation, and ensuring high availability in resource-constrained environments.

Drawing from real-world experiences, we'll tackle the often-overlooked challenge of resource scarcity while examining effective approaches to navigating complex organisational dynamics, managing stakeholder expectations, and cutting through the hype surrounding generative AI. Throughout, our focus remains on the ultimate goal: creating superior customer experiences in financial services where trust, service excellence, and operational stability must coexist. [...]

TIMECODES
00:00 Intro
05:01 GenAI goldrush
06:30 Platform problem space
11:16 Platform
18:53 Engineering under new constraints
26:22 Evolving engineering practice
33:00 What this means for organisations
36:00 Outro

Read the full abstract here:
https://yowcon.com/brisbane-2025/sessions/3901

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Phil Winder • Reinforcement Learning • https://amzn.to/3t1S1VZ
Jay Wengrow • A Common-Sense Guide to AI Engineering • https://pragprog.com/titles/jwpaieng
Kurt Dowswell • Programming with GitHub Copilot • https://amzn.to/3TM2HaL

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