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PERSPECTIVE

The Pilot That Never Becomes Anything

An AI pilot should not prove that "it works": it should help decide. One task, a cost measured beforehand, a criterion set in advance, a short deadline — otherwise the demonstration succeeds and nothing changes.

July 2026 · 12 min read

People analyzing metrics in a meeting

REFERENCE

Pilot / Proof of Concept (POC): What Is It For?

A pilot is not a showcase: it is a decision tool — brief, quantified, and dated — whose sole mission is to say whether an AI project deserves to scale. And scaling is prepared during the pilot, never after.

July 2026 · 9 min read

Executive at work in a bright office

PERSPECTIVE

The Blocker Is Almost Never the Idea

AI ideas abound and the technology is available: what blocks companies is the absence of a decidable first project — bounded, quantified, dated. A committee decides on a specific project, never a vague ambition.

June 2026 · 11 min read

Dashboard of metrics and performance curves

REFERENCE

AI Use Cases, Defined

A use case is neither "AI" nor a tool: a precise, repeated task where the machine delivers a measurable gain. Six categories to classify, one grid to choose the first case — real, measured, repeated.

June 2026 · 9 min read

The analysis to read first this week.

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Arnaud's note

The weekly note from Arnaud Quintin, founder of YPrtnrs: one case, one lesson, one live project.

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Trading floor and financial data in the AI era

ANALYSISFINANCIAL SERVICES

AI in Financial Services: Giant Rollouts, Proof by the Dropperful

Finance deploys AI more than any other sector (92% of EU banks, 200,000 employees equipped at a single bank), yet only 4 banks in 50 prove their ROI. Three decision regimes, four fault lines, and a decision tree for where to start.

September 2026 · 11 min read

Insurance files and risk analysis in the AI era

ANALYSISINSURANCE

AI in Insurance: Record Adoption, Lagging Industrialization

Insurance is the economy's most AI-equipped sector — yet only 10% of insurers have industrialized it, while catastrophe losses top $100bn for the sixth year. Six use-case families, four breaking points, five 90-day decisions.

September 2026 · 11 min read

FOUNDER · EVERY WEDNESDAY

Your first AI project is smaller than you think.

Siparex and Bpifrance documented twenty completed AI projects in French SMEs and mid-market companies: 70% cost between 15,000 and 100,000 euros and 80% shipped in under six months. The Aldes case: 40,000 euros, five months.

September 2026 · 4 min read

Store and customer journey in the AI era

ANALYSISRETAIL & DISTRIBUTION

AI in Retail: The Customer Has Already Switched

A third of customers already shop with AI; 13% of retailers use it. Six documented use-case families and five 90-day decisions to join the 26% that scale.

September 2026 · 11 min read

FOUNDER · EVERY WEDNESDAY

AI drafts. You sign.

AI drafts faster, but speed is not accuracy. The lesson from Ashurst: where a signature commits you, review is not overhead, it is the product.

September 2026 · 4 min read

FOUNDER · EVERY WEDNESDAY

Your teams are already using AI. Without you.

Your teams are already using AI, with or without you. The lesson from BBVA: you don't control enthusiasm, you channel it. Two rules, a sharing ritual, and something better than the free tool.

August 2026 · 3 min read

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Read-only snapshot of the Institute's published content as of 2026-10-05.