AUSTRIACARD

AUSTRIACARD Achieves Mastercard Card ECO-Certification for Sustainable Payment Card Portfolio

gorbatech — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 07:10:02 +0000

AUSTRIACARD has earned Mastercard Card ECO-Certification (CEC) for our complete portfolio of environmentally sustainable payment card solutions for several consecutive years. This certification validates our commitment to reducing the environmental impact of payment cards while maintaining the highest standards of quality and performance.

Addressing a Global Environmental Challenge

With billions of payment cards produced globally each year, the industry’s environmental footprint is substantial. Our ECO-Certified cards represent a fundamental shift away from virgin fossil fuel-based materials toward renewable and recycled alternatives that dramatically reduce carbon emissions and environmental impact.

Innovative Materials, Proven Performance

Our certified solutions utilize advanced sustainable materials, including recycled PVC that gives new life to plastic waste and biobased Polylactic Acid (PLA) derived from renewable plant resources. PLA is completely free from harmful chlorides and aligns with circular economy principles, helping close the loop on plastic waste in the payment card industry.

Sustainability Without Compromise

Every solution has undergone rigorous testing through Mastercard’s Card Structure Integrity program, proving that environmental responsibility and performance excellence go hand in hand. Our cards deliver the same durability, security, and reliability that issuers and cardholders expect, while remaining compatible with multiple chip platforms and maintaining full EMV compliance.

Partnering for a Sustainable Future

The transition to sustainable payments reflects both corporate responsibility and evolving consumer expectations. Financial institutions can demonstrate environmental leadership with every card they issue. At AUSTRIACARD, we serve as your partner in this sustainability journey, reducing the payment card industry’s environmental footprint while delivering exceptional quality and performance.

The future of payments is sustainable, and we’re committed to making it a reality.

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Introducing Our New Corn-Based 100% PLA Card: A Sustainable Solution for a Greener Future

gorbatech — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 13:25:22 +0000

In response to the growing demand for environmentally friendly products and the latest initiatives set forth by Mastercard, we are excited to announce the launch of our new corn-based PLA card. As both organizations and consumers increasingly focus on sustainability, our PLA card marks a crucial advancement in minimizing plastic waste and fostering eco-friendly practices within the payment industry. This innovative card not only meets the stringent requirements of modern regulations but also aligns with our commitment to a greener future.

Properties of our PLA card:

The card body is composed entirely of corn-based plastic.
Biodegradable and compostable, minimizing long-term environmental impact.
Made from renewable resources, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels.
Generates fewer toxic byproducts throughout its lifecycle.
Offers an excellent cost-to-value ratio.
No restrictions on color or effects during production.
This PLA card body has received official approval from Mastercard through the Card Structure and Integrity Program (CSI). This certification verifies its outstanding durability and long-term performance in the field, adhering to Mastercard’s strict CQM quality standards.
Visa certification as of Q3 2025
PLA is the most widely used bioplastic and has proven technology.
Degradable* and free from halogens.

*Under industrial composting conditions or in soil (with appropriate humidity, microorganisms, and temperature), degradation occurs within a timeframe of weeks to months.

What is PLA?

Polylactic Acid (PLA): PLA is a biodegradable thermoplastic made from lactic acid, which is derived from the fermentation of carbohydrates, typically from corn starch or sugarcane.
Biodegradable: Unlike traditional plastics, PLA can break down into natural substances in the environment under the right conditions, making it more eco-friendly.

How is Corn-Based PLA Made?

Fermentation: Corn starch is fermented to produce lactic acid.
Polymerization: The lactic acid is then polymerized to form PLA, creating long chains of molecules that give the material its plastic properties.

Properties of Corn-Based PLA

Biodegradability: PLA can decompose in industrial composting facilities within a few months, reducing landfill waste.
Renewable Resource: Since it is made from corn, a renewable resource, PLA has a lower carbon footprint compared to petroleum-based plastics.
Versatility: PLA can be used in various applications, including packaging, disposable cutlery, 3D printing, and even textiles.

Advantages

Environmental Impact: Reduces reliance on fossil fuels and decreases plastic pollution.
Safety: Generally considered safe for food contact and does not release harmful chemicals during decomposition.

Disadvantages

Personalization limitation: cannot be laser-engraved.

Applications

Packaging: Used for food containers, bags, and films.
3D Printing: Popular among hobbyists and professionals for creating prototypes and models.
Medical Devices: Used in some biodegradable medical applications, such as sutures and implants.

In summary, our new corn-based PLA card is not just a payment method; it’s a commitment to sustainability and innovation. By choosing PLA, we are taking a proactive approach to reduce our environmental impact while providing our customers with a reliable and modern payment solution.

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BIOMETRICS CARD

gorbatech — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 12:35:36 +0000

N-BioCard is a pioneering payment solution that redefines financial security through state-of-the-art biometric technology. The “N” in N-BioCard stands for “Next Generation,” emphasizing the card’s role in leading advancements in payment technology. It highlights how the card’s integration of advanced biometric features sets a new benchmark for security and convenience in financial transactions, showcasing its position at the forefront of technological innovation.

Our N-BioCard is a Dual interface payment card that incorporates an extra layer of security in the payment transactions. Cardholders approve the transactions via a fingerprint sensor embedded in the card instead of introducing a PIN in the terminal. N-BioCard is an innovative payment solution addressing the security concerns of many cardholders. Surveys show the willingness of cardholders to pay additional fees to obtain a biometric card, they are a new source of revenue for issuers.

Benefits

Convenient: no payment limit for a contactless transaction
Hygienic: no need to touch the pad numbers in the POS
Secure: if the card is lost/stolen, as the fingerprint authentication is always required, no low-value contactless payments will be possible.

How it works

Payments with our N-BioCard are done by tapping the card into the POS terminal just like a regular card; the difference is the authentication method. All transactions with N-BioCard, no matter for which amount, require fingerprint authentication. This authentication is achieved by pressing the fingerprint sensor when tapping the POS terminal. PIN code can still be used with N-BioCard as a fallback solution whenever the customer’s fingerprint can’t be used.

Fingerprint enrolment

The first step to be able to use N-BioCard is to enrol the fingerprint data in the card. The process of enrolment is straightforward and can be done anywhere by the cardholder using a sleeve or a mobile application. Enrolment is done in few seconds, once completed the card is ready to be used.

The fingerprint data is securely stored only in the Secure Element of the card to ensure that cardholder’s data is protected. Biometric data never leaves the card.

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ACOS-IDv4.1 Tops the List with Four ANSSI Certifications

gorbatech — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 08:54:35 +0000

Our newest version of the ACOS ID product, which utilizes the advanced Infineon SLC26G chip (28 nanometers), has successfully obtained four ANSSI certifications.

We are pleased to announce that ACOS-IDv4.1 has achieved significant certification milestones. Here are the key details:

Certified by French ANSSI under Common Criteria (EAL5+).
Published certificates are now available. (please see links below)
Certified as an eMRTD (Machine Readable Travel Document).
All related derivatives of eMRTD are included in the certification.
Recognized as an SSCD (Secure Signature Creation Device).

What is ACOS-ID?

ACOS-ID is the ICAO and eIDAS compliant native smart card operating system developed by AUSTRIACARD. ACOS is designed for a very broad range of applications, ranging from:

Passport/National Identity card
eID card (Identification, Authentication and qualified Signature / PKI),
Residence permit card
Driving License
Vehicle registration card
Health card to special purpose applications developed for customer’s needs.
In addition multi-application support allows any combination thereof.

Implementing all relevant international / European standards and specifications from ICAO (doc9303), ISO (Driver’s License), CEN (eIDAS, Signature) ensures full international acceptance and interoperability. ACOS-ID has been certified according Common Criteria EAL 5+ concerning all relevant Protection Profiles as well as according to ANSSI “Qualification renforcée” at the highest level.

View Certifications

ACOS-IDv4.1 SSCD (A) CL-TC-Comm (version 4.1 SSCD (A))

ACOS-IDv4.1 SSCD (A) CB-Comm (version 4.1 SSCD (A))

ACOS-IDv4.1 eMRTD (A) EAC/PACE Configuration (version 4.1 eMRTD (A))

ACOS-IDv4.1 eMRTD (A) BAC Configuration (version 4.1 eMRTD (A))

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Discover Our Active Involvement in Exciting EU Projects

gorbatech — Tue, 20 May 2025 10:20:01 +0000

Introduction to Our Participation in Key EU Projects

Did you know that our company is actively involved in several groundbreaking EU projects aimed at enhancing data management, energy communities, and digital value creation across Europe? These initiatives not only reflect our commitment to innovation and sustainability but also empower citizens, businesses, and public administrations by providing secure and efficient solutions.

Below, we highlight our contributions to four significant projects: TANGO, DATACELLAR, DataBri-X, and UPCAST. Each project represents a unique opportunity to drive progress in data sovereignty, energy management, and interoperability, showcasing AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS’ dedication to fostering a more connected and sustainable future.

TANGO

Digital Technologies ActiNg as a Gatekeeper to information and data flOws.

Grant Agreement ID: 101070052

The TANGO project provides a trustworthy data management and sharing solution to ensure data sovereignty, governance, and provenance for citizens, businesses, and public administration across Europe. It develops a secure, trustworthy, and environmentally sustainable data management solution.

Our role in the project:

AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS is actively participating in the implementation of the project pilots, offering a centralized portal for users to register on the TANGO platform and access relevant offerings. In addition to the portal UI, we are integrating various components at the front-end level to facilitate secure information exchange through APIs.

DATACELLAR

Data hub for the Creation of Energy Communities at Local Level and to Advance Research on them.

Grant Agreement ID: 101069694

DATA CELLAR aims to create a federated energy dataspace that supports the establishment, development, and management of Local Energy Communities (LECs) in the EU. The data space will be populated through an innovative rewarded private metering approach, ensuring easy onboarding and interaction while integrating smoothly with other EU energy data spaces.

Our role in the project:

AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS plays a pivotal role in leading the Token-based Incentive Model for Data Valorization and Monetization, overseeing Marketplace Integration, Orchestration, and Workspace Management. Our goal is to enhance user engagement and maximize the utility and marketability of data within the ecosystem, leveraging our innovative loyalty platform to facilitate secure and privacy-preserving data exchange.

DataBri-X

Data Process & Technological Bricks for Expanding Digital Value Creation in European Data Spaces.

Grant Agreement ID: 101070069

DataBri-X aims to develop a user-friendly toolbox for creating and integrating data spaces for data-driven applications. This toolbox enhances data and metadata interoperability, usability, quality, and integrity while ensuring compliance with regulations on accountability, fairness, privacy, and confidentiality, adhering to FAIR principles.

Our role in the project:

AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS contributes significantly by providing three tools in the DataBri-X toolbox related to Cost Attribution, Anomaly Detection, and Data Anonymization, while also managing the cloud infrastructure and the entire CI/CD development process.

Project Links:

UPCAST

Universal Platform Components for Safe, Fair, Interoperable Data Exchange, Monetization, and Trading.

Grant Agreement ID: 101093216

The UPCAST Project offers a set of universal, trustworthy, transparent, and user-friendly data market plugins for automating data sharing and processing agreements among businesses, public administrations, and citizens. These plugins enable actors in the common European data spaces to design and deploy data exchange and trading operations, ensuring environmental efficiency and compliance with EU and national initiatives, AI regulations, and ethical procedures.

Our role in the project:

AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS contributes to the UPCAST ecosystem by providing a pricing plugin that uses a multi-variant algorithmic framework to estimate dataset pricing compared to similar datasets in the market. We are also involved in designing the data valuation and environmental plugins, ensuring UPCAST’s compatibility with related projects.

Learn more about the past EU projects we have participated here:

Follow the projects on LinkedIn:

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Success Story: Transforming Signature Workflows for public transportation operator in Vienna, Austria.

Athina.Lykos@austriacard.at — Wed, 07 May 2025 13:51:25 +0000

In 2020, we partnered with Wiener Linien, the public transportation operator in Vienna, Austria, to enhance their signature workflow—without the need for ink! Our innovative solution streamlined their business operations, making them more efficient than ever.

Wiener Linien, one of Vienna’s largest employers with 8,600 staff members, manages its central document operations on an on-premises server. As part of a comprehensive digitalization initiative, they sought a cost-effective solution for their signature workflow that would establish a high level of trust both internally and externally while ensuring compliance with legal requirements. They needed a flexible solution that could accommodate various signature types and adapt to rapidly changing demands, all within a short timeframe.

They chose us for our proven reliability and user-friendly approach. To safeguard their critical documents, we implemented a certificate management system for their signature server and provided a customized TRUST2GO package. This setup allows for tailored certificate issuance based on specific needs and enables legally binding electronic signatures in seconds, whether from a desktop or a mobile device.

Wiener Linien collaborated closely with it20one as their integration partner to ensure a smooth implementation. Given our long-standing successful relationship, they had high expectations, which we fully met. The solution was delivered within just a few days and has since seamlessly supported their business operations, resulting in a measurable increase in efficiency in a short period.

Discover more about our solutions in eGovernment & Authentication here. If you have any questions, please reach out to info@globaltrust.eu.

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Celebrating Excellence: Awarded “Best Digital Transformation Supplier” at The Diplomat Gala!

Athina.Lykos@austriacard.at — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 12:19:29 +0000

We are proud to have received the “Best Digital Transformation Supplier in the Financial Sector” award from The Diplomat Bucharest at the 20th Anniversary Awards Gala last night.

This achievement highlights the ongoing dedication of our entire team to develop innovative solutions and products that deliver significant value to our clients.

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Manolis Kontos Interview: AUSTRIACARD Holdings AG evolves into an international applied technology group

Athina.Lykos@austriacard.at — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 12:16:29 +0000

Read our Group CEO Interview in Naftemporiki newspaper. In this discussion, Manolis Kontos emphasizes our geographical presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the USA, noting that we have made €60 million in acquisition investments since 2019.

Translated from the original Greek.

With the legacy of 127 years of history and uninterrupted presence in the market, AUSTRIACARD Holdings, formerly Inform Lykos, is evolving into an international applied technology group, with a geographical footprint in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the USA.

From 2019 until today, the company has invested capital of €60 million. euros in acquisitions. Manolis Kontos, CEO of the Group, talks to “N” about the growth strategy, expansion plans and acquisition plan of the listed company on the Athens and Vienna Stock Exchanges.

“AUSTRIACARD Holdings is steadily evolving into an international applied technology group, with particular emphasis and priority on the banking sector and systematic expansion into other, related business areas, such as the broader field of fintech and challenger/neo-banks.

Our goal is to be a leading provider of integrated solutions in the markets where we operate, integrating technologies, products and services at the highest possible level. We want to be a point of total support for our customers, going beyond the simple provision of individual products and dynamically undertaking the complete and holistic treatment of their needs.

At the core of these solutions is, of course, absolute security in data management and their implementation, whether they are security and identification documents of citizens or bank cards or any other type of electronic documents, with the ultimate goal of analyzing and utilizing them to support and contribute to business decision-making”, Mr. Kontos stresses.

Regarding financial performance, “the analysis of the financial data shows that the strategy to evolve the group into a provider of holistic applied technology solutions is already being implemented, with revenues in this segment having quadrupled this year, reaching €16.3 million. EUR 4.4 million in the first half of 2023.

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As the data shows, we are on track to achieve or exceed our forecast for FY 2024 – namely, revenue growth of 10% and increased adjusted EBITDA of 12%, as a result of enhanced operating synergies and an improved sales mix with a focus towards digital transformation technologies”, notes Mr. Kontos. At the same time, from 2019 until today, AUSTRIACARD Holdings has invested €60 million. euros in acquisitions.

Focusing on the group’s strategy, Mr. Kontos points out that “we focus on optimizing technologies and solutions that serve the digital transformation of modern business organizations, while at the same time we focus on geographic areas with high growth potential and, correspondingly, on market sectors that are evolving at very high rates, such as fintech. We know very well the markets in which we have an established presence, as well as those in which we systematically expand – both in terms of scope and geographically.

Our development choices focus on those technologies that are at the cutting edge of developments and come to complement our so-called total “offering”, always guided by our ability to holistically serve the needs of our customers and support their digital transformation in areas such as digital banking, security printing and citizen authentication. that is, citizen identification procedures, for which AUSTRIACARD Holdings maintains a leading role in Central Europe.”

Tangible AI technology & acquisitions

He adds that “in these functions, AI is integrated as an instrument with a significant supporting role. Our AI moves and choices focus on “tangible” solutions for our customers, such as cost optimization and accurate prediction of consumer behaviors – key factors for sectors such as banking and fintech, with a large amount of data to manage, analyze and exploit.

We are systematically investing in this direction, especially with the recent acquisition of the specialized data analysis and management company LStech, based in the UK. This is the overall logic with which we approach growth through acquisitions – always aiming to enrich our portfolio and know-how by offering end-to-end solutions to our customers. This analysis underpins our strategy for future acquisitions, particularly in data analytics, automation, AI, data security.”

Regarding AUSTRIACARD Holdings’ international presence, according to Mr. Kontos, “geographically now, apart from the countries where we have a leading presence, such as Greece, Austria, Romania, the UK and North America (USA and Canada), we place particular emphasis on the markets of Turkey, Africa and the Middle East where the potential in the banking sector but also in the field of electronic identification procedures and other digital processes of the public sector management is showing great potential. That is why we make our presence felt in the markets of many of these countries – apart from Turkey, of course, where our presence is already long and strong.

There is, of course, always the geopolitical factor, which we obviously take into account when planning our moves,” he says. “It’s true that we’re also focusing on the U.S. and Canadian markets, among others, even though we don’t think just moving across the Atlantic is enough to fuel growth. Of course we are able and want to expand our business model in America: we started practically from scratch, supporting fintech companies of European origin operating in these countries, but now we have the ability to meet the demands of organizations such as large regional banks on the East Coast.

We believe that the prospects can be promising, which is why we are devoting considerable resources to this. We also put particular emphasis on the UK market.”

Regarding the valuation of the company’s presence in two stock exchanges and the planning after the placement that took place recently, Mr. Kontos argues that “our recent moves in the Athens Exchange show a clear message of support for the share from the main shareholder and the Management, but also confidence in the strategic plan that is evolving methodically and effectively. Our parallel presence on the Vienna Stock Exchange has additional symbolic significance, given the long history and tradition of our brand in Austria, as well as the extroversion of our Group as a business organization with an international presence and scope.

It is worth mentioning that, while we are talking about an organization that started in Greece, its participation in the total turnover of the company is around 10%, so it is clear that we are talking about a global presence and a high market share internationally. This is also proven by the staffing of the organization, which has now far transcended national borders, gathering know-how and business dynamics from the international environment”.

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Fortune Magazine Greece: Interview with Spyros Sakellariou, our Group AI & Data Analytics Director

Athina.Lykos@austriacard.at — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 11:58:52 +0000

Introducing our Group AI & Data Analytics Director, Spyros Sakellariou, through the interview he conducted with Fortune Magazine. The following interview, titled ‘Barriers to the Adoption of Generative AI and How to Overcome Them,’ is sourced from Fortune Magazine, originally in Greek and translated into English.

Τα εμπόδια στην υιοθέτηση του Generative AI και πως να τα ξεπεράσετε.

Στα τέλη της δεκαετίας το 2000, γίναμε μάρτυρες της συνάντησης δύο τεχνολογιών η οποία, δώδεκα περίπου χρόνια αργότερα, θα δημιουργούσε την τεχνητή νοημοσύνη, ένα μοναδικό ψηφιακό εργαλείο που χρησιμοποιείται σήμερα από εκατομμύρια ανθρώπους σε όλο το κόσμο μέσα από πλατφόρμες όπως το ChatGPT.

Οι τεχνολογίες οι οποίες αποτέλεσαν τη βάση για την ανάπτυξη της τεχνητής νοημοσύνης ήταν τα Big Data, δηλαδή οι μεγάλες βάσεις δεδομένων, που σκοπό είχαν να μπορέσουν να αποθηκεύσουν, αλλά και να επεξεργαστούν, τους τεράστιους όγκους δεδομένων που παράγονται δημόσια στο internet, αλλά και από εταιρείες, ιδιωτικά. Ο πλούτος των διαθέσιμων δεδομένων και η δυνατότητα επεξεργασίας τους έδωσαν την ευκαιρία σε επιστήμονες δεδομένων να φτιάξουν εξαιρετικά ακριβείς αλγόριθμους πρόβλεψης, εκπαιδεύοντας τεχνητά νευρωνικά δίκτυα. Με την εξέλιξη αυτή, άρχισε να γίνεται εμφανές ότι, όσο μεγάλωνε ο όγκος του διαθέσιμου και άμεσα προσβάσιμου περιεχομένου – όλα τα κείμενα, εικόνες, ήχοι και videos που μπορούν να βρεθούν στο ίντερνετ αλλά και το πλήθος των συνάψεων ενός νευρωνικού δικτύου – τόσο περισσότερο μεγάλωνε και το εύρος των ζητημάτων που μπορούσαν να επιλυθούν μέσω των ψηφιακών τεχνολογιών.

Με την εφεύρεση της τεχνικής GPT (Generative Pretrained Transformers) δημιουργήθηκαν συστήματα τεχνητών νευρωνικών δικτύων που «μιλούσαν» και κατανοούσαν ανθρώπινες γλώσσες (LLM – Large Language Models). Τα συστήματα αυτά παρουσίασαν εντυπωσιακή ικανότητα κατανόησης κειμένων, ενώ ταυτόχρονα μπορούσαν να απαντήσουν και σε πολύπλοκα ερωτήματα, κάνοντας λογικούς συνειρμούς ακόμη και πάνω σε θέματα στα οποία δεν είχαν εκπαιδευτεί! Αργότερα, τα ίδια συστήματα απέκτησαν και τη δυνατότητα να μπορούν να αντιληφθούν και να ερμηνεύσουν το περιεχόμενο μιας εικόνας, ή ακόμη και να δημιουργήσουν μια νέα, μέσα από την αξιοποίηση διαθέσιμων δεδομένων και πληροφοριών (Generative AI).

Για πρώτη λοιπόν φορά στην ιστορία της ανθρωπότητας έχουμε μηχανές οι οποίες προσομοιάζουν την ανθρώπινη νοημοσύνη, διαθέτοντας ένα είδος λογικής σκέψης και κατανόησης του κόσμου. Όπως είναι φυσικό και επόμενο σε κάθε κοσμογονική αλλαγή, οι κοινωνίες της τέταρτης βιομηχανικής επανάστασης έχουν διχαστεί: Αφενός, υπάρχουν αυτοί που πιστεύουν ότι δεν πρόκειται παρά για μιμητικές μηχανές χωρίς ουσιαστικό λόγο ύπαρξης και τις ονομάζουν ειρωνικά «στατιστικούς παπαγάλους», εξαιτίας της έλλειψης δυνατότητας δημιουργίας πραγματικά χρήσιμου και πρωτογενούς περιεχομένου. Αφετέρου, υπάρχουν εκείνοι οι οποίοι αντιλαμβάνονται τη σύνθετη λειτουργία των νευρωνικών δικτύων και την αντιμετωπίζουν με απόλυτο δέος, θεωρώντας πως βρισκόμαστε στο κατώφλι της δημιουργίας μιας υπερ-νοημοσύνης, που θα θέσει υπό αμφισβήτηση ακόμη και τις πιο κοινές παραδοχές της ύπαρξής μας.

Η πραγματικότητα είναι φυσικά κάπου στη μέση. Πράγματι, για πρώτη φορά έχουμε τόσο έξυπνα εργαλεία στα χέρια μας, εργαλεία όμως τα οποία δουλεύουν μηχανικά, χωρίς να έχουν πραγματική επίγνωση του περιβάλλοντός τους, χωρίς σκέψεις, αναμνήσεις και συναισθήματα, χωρίς συνείδηση. Ας μην ξεχνάμε και τις ατέλειες που πρέπει να λάβουμε υπόψη μας και να αντιμετωπίσουμε πριν χρησιμοποιήσουμε εργαλεία προηγμένης ψηφιακής τεχνολογίας.

Ποιες είναι λοιπόν αυτές τις ατέλειες και πώς τις αντιμετωπίζουμε;

Η πιο γνωστή ατέλεια είναι ότι τα μεγάλα γλωσσικά μοντέλα λένε άθελά τους κάποιες φορές ψέματα (hallucinations) και έτσι δεν μπορούμε πάντα να εμπιστευτούμε τις απαντήσεις που μας δίνουν. Η δεύτερη και εξίσου σημαντική ατέλεια είναι το γεγονός ότι οι μηχανές αυτές δεν γνωρίζουν σχεδόν τίποτα για τον οργανισμό ή την εταιρεία που θέλει να τα χρησιμοποιήσει, μιας και η γνώση τους προέρχεται από τα δεδομένα που είναι ελεύθερα προσβάσιμα στο ίντερνετ και όχι από ιδιωτικά δεδομένα. Τέλος, πρόβλημα είναι και οι τεράστιες ανάγκες τους σε hardware και ειδικότερα σε κάρτες γραφικών οι οποίες καταναλώνουν τεράστιες ποσότητες ενέργειας.

Στον όμιλο AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS AG, τον συνεχώς αναπτυσσόμενο πάροχο ολιστικών λύσεων εφαρμοσμένης τεχνολογίας, έχουμε αναπτύξει την πλατφόρμα GenAI–In–A–Box, μια πλατφόρμα η οποία μας επιτρέπει να ενσωματώσουμε με ασφάλεια λύσεις Generative AI σε οποιοδήποτε δημόσιο η ιδιωτικό οργανισμό, αντιμετωπίζοντας με επιτυχία τις ατέλειες που παρουσιάζουν τα μεγάλα γλωσσικά μοντέλα.

Εμπιστοσύνη στις απαντήσεις των μεγάλων γλωσσικών μοντέλων.

Για να μπορέσουμε να μειώσουμε τις ανακριβείς απαντήσεις των μοντέλων, ακολουθούμε μια νέα προσέγγιση σε σχέση με την κλασσική επιστήμη δεδομένων (Data Science), που ονομάζεται “prompt engineering”. Η πλατφόρμα GenAI–In–A–Box δίνει τη δυνατότητα σε prompt engineers να αντιμετωπίσουν το πρόβλημα των hallucinations από δύο διαφορετικές πλευρές.

Η πρώτη τους επιτρέπει να δοκιμάζουν πολλές και διαφορετικές στρατηγικές γραφής οδηγιών προς το μοντέλο (instruction prompts) με σκοπό να βρουν τις οδηγίες που θα μειώσουν όσο το δυνατόν λιγότερο τις ανακρίβειες. Οι τεχνικές αυτές είναι πάρα πολλές, όπως για παράδειγμα το “reflection”, όπου λέμε στο μοντέλο να μας εξηγήσει τις σκέψεις του πριν μας δώσει απάντηση, δίνοντάς του έτσι τον χρόνο να διορθώσει μόνο του τυχόν λάθη. Ακολούθως έχουμε το “chain of thought” , όπου ζητάμε από το μοντέλο να μας δώσει μια στρατηγική με λογικά βήματα που θα πρέπει να ακολουθήσει για να μπορέσει να γράψει τη σωστή απάντηση.

Ο δεύτερος τρόπος που η πλατφόρμα βοηθάει τους prompt engineers είναι ότι έχουν τη δυνατότητα να υλοποιήσουν εικονικές ομάδες από ξεχωριστά μοντέλα τεχνητής νοημοσύνης. Στην περίπτωση αυτή, αντί να δίνουμε όλες τις οδηγίες μας σε ένα γλωσσικό μοντέλο, φτιάχνουμε πολλαπλούς AI Agents, με τον καθένα να έχει τις δικές του οδηγίες και να μιλάει με τους υπόλοιπους AI Agents σε ανθρώπινη γλώσσα. Μπορούμε για παράδειγμα να φτιάξουμε έναν AI Agent που θα είναι σε θέση να καταλαβαίνει ποιο είναι το ερώτημα και να δημιουργεί την ενδεδειγμένη στρατηγική, δίνοντας επιμέρους εντολές σε άλλους AI Agents. Συνήθως υπάρχει ένας ΑΙ Agent στον ρόλο του συντονιστή, ο οποίος αξιολογεί την ποιότητα των απαντήσεων των υπολοίπων και συνθέτει την τελική απάντηση μειώνοντας εντυπωσιακά τις ανακριβείς απαντήσεις. Φυσικά μπορούν να δημιουργηθούν και μικτές ομάδες στις οποίες, εκτός από τους AI Agents, συμμετέχουν και άνθρωποι (human in the loop), και οι οποίες είναι συνήθως και αυτές με τα καλύτερα αποτελέσματα.

Εταιρική Γνώση

Όπως είπαμε, τα μεγάλα γλωσσικά μοντέλα δεν έχουν καμία γνώση των δεδομένων και των εγγράφων που υπάρχουν σε μια εταιρεία και αποτελούν θα λέγαμε την «Εταιρική Γνώση». Δυστυχώς τα μοντέλα δεν έχουν τόσο μεγάλη μνήμη ώστε να μπορούμε να τους δώσουμε όλη αυτήν την πληροφορία σε ένα μεγάλο instruction prompt. Αυτό που χρειαζόμαστε είναι η δημιουργία ενός Knowledge Base όπου υπάρχει πρόσβαση στην «Εταιρική Γνώση» και από όπου μπορούν να εξαχθούν μόνο τα κομμάτια γνώσης που σχετίζονται με το ερώτημα που προσπαθεί να απαντήσει το μεγάλο γλωσσικό μοντέλο. Για τον σκοπό αυτό, η πλατφόρμα Gen–AI–In–A–Box προσφέρει έναν μηχανισμό Knowledge Base, μια hybrid Graph–Vector Database, όπου, αφού εισαχθεί η εταιρική γνώση, ενεργοποιείται μια εικονική ομάδα από AI Agents εξειδικευμένη στο να βρίσκει όχι μόνο τη σχετική πληροφορία, αλλά και βαθύτερες λογικές συσχετίσεις που θα χρειαστεί να γνωρίζει το μεγάλο γλωσσικό μοντέλο πριν δώσει την απάντηση του. Έτσι, οι απαντήσεις που παίρνουμε είναι όχι μόνο ακριβείς, αλλά και σχετικές με τη βαθύτερη εταιρική γνώση του οργανισμού για τον οποίο έχει φτιαχτεί η γνωσιακή βάση.

Ενέργεια και κόστος

Τα πολύ μεγάλα γλωσσικά μοντέλα έχουν φτάσει να έχουν πάνω από ένα τρισεκατομμύριο παραμέτρους και χρειάζονται την ενέργεια μιας μικρής πόλης, πρώτα για να εκπαιδευτούν (training) και μετά για να εξυπηρετήσουν (inference) ερωτήματα από χρήστες. Υπάρχουν όμως και «μεγάλα» γλωσσικά μοντέλα που πάνε στην αντίθετη κατεύθυνση, εκπαιδεύονται με μεγάλους όγκους δεδομένων αλλά έχουν μόνο «μερικά» δισεκατομμύρια παραμέτρων έχοντας, κατά συνέπεια, πολύ χαμηλότερες ενεργειακές απαιτήσεις. Η πλατφόρμα Gen–AI–In–A–Box μας δίνει τη δυνατότητα να συνδεθούμε με πολλά και διαφορετικά μοντέλα χωρίς να χρειαστεί κάποια αλλαγή στον κώδικα της εφαρμογής μας. Ταυτόχρονα συλλέγει και αξιολογεί τις απαντήσεις που δίνει το κάθε μοντέλο ώστε να επιλεγεί αυτό που είναι το μικρότερο και φθηνότερο.

Στην AUSTRIACARD θέλουμε να επενδύουμε τους πόρους και το ανθρώπινο κεφάλαιό μας με τον πιο αποτελεσματικό τρόπο. Γι’ αυτό και επιλέγουμε να επενδύουμε σε ανθρώπους και ομάδες με υψηλή εξειδίκευση, κάτι που φάνηκε και από την πρόσφατη εξαγορά της εταιρείας ανάλυσης και διαχείρισης δεδομένων LSΤech, με έδρα το Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο. Η υψηλή τεχνογνωσία της LSTech στους κλάδους των τραπεζών, των τηλεπικοινωνιών, των υπηρεσιών κοινής ωφέλειας, σε συνδυασμό με την εξειδίκευσή της σε πρωτοποριακές τεχνολογίες όπως Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), Privacy Preserving Analytics και Machine Learning αναδεικνύει αυτό το όραμα της εταιρείας.

Με στόχο να σταθούμε με θάρρος και αξιοπρέπεια απέναντι σε έναν παγκόσμιο ανταγωνισμό ο οποίος εξελίσσεται με ταχύτατους ρυθμούς, οριοθετούμε τη στρατηγική μας και επικεντρωνόμαστε στην παροχή ολιστικών λύσεων ασφαλούς διαχείρισης και επεξεργασίας πληροφοριών, ψηφιοποίησης και αυτοματισμών. Ζητήματα ηθικά, εργασιακά και κοινωνικά που σχετίζονται με τον ψηφιακό μετασχηματισμό των επιχειρήσεων, αλλά και του δημοσίου τομέα ευρύτερα, δεν τίθενται στο περιθώριο. Αντίθετα, συνιστούν αναπόσπαστο μέρος της συζήτησης για τη χάραξη της επιχειρηματικής στρατηγικής μας.

Ως οργανισμός με ηγετική θέση στον κλάδο της εφαρμοσμένης τεχνολογίας, κατανοούμε πλήρως πως στη σημερινή εποχή της τεχνολογικής επιτάχυνσης, κυβερνήσεις, επιχειρήσεις και οργανισμοί που θα επιδείξουν αδυναμία επίτευξης υψηλών επιπέδων ψηφιακού μετασχηματισμού και αποτελεσματικής αξιοποίησης ψηφιακών εργαλείων όπως η τεχνητή νοημοσύνη και τα Big Data, θα οδηγηθούν μοιραία στο περιθώριο. Η εξαιρετική δυναμική της ομάδας R&D του ομίλου, μας τοποθετεί σε υψηλή θέση ως προς την τεχνογνωσία, την ταχύτητα εξυπηρέτησης και ανταπόκρισης, και ως προς την εμπιστοσύνη των πελατών μας, ενώ ταυτόχρονα εξελισσόμαστε κι εμείς οι ίδιοι ως μέλη της ACAG.

Barriers to the Adoption of Generative AI and How to Overcome Them

In the late 2000s, we witnessed the convergence of two technologies that, about twelve years later, would give rise to artificial intelligence—a unique digital tool now used by millions of people worldwide through platforms like ChatGPT.

The technologies that formed the foundation for the development of artificial intelligence were Big Data, which aimed to store and process the vast amounts of data generated publicly on the internet and privately by companies. The wealth of available data and the ability to process it allowed data scientists to create highly accurate predictive algorithms by training artificial neural networks. With this advancement, it became evident that as the volume of available and easily accessible content—such as texts, images, sounds, and videos found online—grew, so did the range of issues that could be addressed through digital technologies.

With the invention of the GPT (Generative Pretrained Transformers) technique, systems of artificial neural networks emerged that could “speak” and understand human languages (LLM – Large Language Models). These systems demonstrated impressive text comprehension abilities and could respond to complex questions, making logical inferences even on topics they had not been trained on! Later, these systems also gained the ability to perceive and interpret the content of an image or even create a new one by utilizing available data and information (Generative AI).

For the first time in human history, we have machines that simulate human intelligence, possessing a form of logical thinking and understanding of the world. Naturally, in the face of such a transformative change, societies in the fourth industrial revolution have become divided: On one hand, there are those who believe these are merely mimicking machines without a substantial reason for existence, ironically calling them “statistical parrots” due to their lack of ability to create genuinely useful and original content. On the other hand, there are those who grasp the complex functioning of neural networks and regard them with awe, believing we are on the brink of creating a super-intelligence that will challenge even the most common assumptions of our existence.

The reality, of course, lies somewhere in between. Indeed, for the first time, we have such intelligent tools at our disposal—tools that operate mechanically, without real awareness of their environment, devoid of thoughts, memories, and emotions, lacking consciousness. We must also consider the imperfections that we need to address before utilizing advanced digital technology tools.

So, what are these imperfections, and how do we tackle them?

The most well-known imperfection is that large language models sometimes inadvertently produce falsehoods (hallucinations), making it difficult to always trust their responses. The second equally significant imperfection is that these machines know almost nothing about the organization or company that wishes to use them, as their knowledge comes from publicly accessible data on the internet rather than private data. Finally, there is the issue of their enormous hardware requirements, particularly for graphics cards, which consume vast amounts of energy.

At AUSTRIACARD HOLDINGS AG, a continuously growing provider of holistic applied technology solutions, we have developed the GenAI-In-A-Box platform, which allows us to securely integrate Generative AI solutions into any public or private organization, successfully addressing the imperfections presented by large language models.

Trust in the Responses of Large Language Models

To reduce the inaccuracies in the models’ responses, we follow a new approach compared to classical data science, known as “prompt engineering.” The GenAI-In-A-Box platform enables prompt engineers to tackle the issue of hallucinations from two different angles.

The first allows them to test various writing strategies for instructions to the model (instruction prompts) to find the ones that minimize inaccuracies. There are many techniques, such as “reflection,” where we ask the model to explain its thoughts before providing an answer, giving it time to correct any mistakes. Then there is “chain of thought,” where we ask the model to outline a logical strategy it should follow to formulate the correct answer.

The second way the platform assists prompt engineers is by allowing them to create virtual teams of separate AI models. In this case, instead of giving all instructions to one language model, we create multiple AI Agents, each with its own instructions, communicating with each other in human language. For example, we can create an AI Agent that understands the question and devises the appropriate strategy, issuing specific commands to other AI Agents. Typically, there is one AI Agent in the role of coordinator, who evaluates the quality of the responses from the others and composes the final answer, significantly reducing inaccuracies. Naturally, mixed teams can also be created, where, in addition to AI Agents, humans (human in the loop) participate, often yielding the best results.

Corporate Knowledge

As mentioned, large language models have no knowledge of the data and documents that exist within a company, which we might refer to as “Corporate Knowledge.” Unfortunately, these models do not have sufficient memory to accommodate all this information in a single large instruction prompt. What we need is the creation of a Knowledge Base that provides access to “Corporate Knowledge,” from which only the relevant pieces of information related to the question the large language model is trying to answer can be extracted. For this purpose, the Gen-AI-In-A-Box platform offers a Knowledge Base mechanism, a hybrid Graph-Vector Database, where, once the corporate knowledge is inputted, a virtual team of AI Agents is activated, specialized in finding not only the relevant information but also deeper logical relationships that the large language model needs to know before providing its answer. Thus, the responses we receive are not only accurate but also relevant to the deeper corporate knowledge of the organization for which the knowledge base has been created.

Energy and Cost

Very large language models have reached over a trillion parameters and require the energy of a small city, first for training and then for serving (inference) user queries. However, there are also “large” language models that go in the opposite direction, trained on large volumes of data but having only “a few” billion parameters, thus having much lower energy requirements. The Gen-AI-In-A-Box platform allows us to connect with many different models without needing to change our application code. At the same time, it collects and evaluates the responses given by each model to select the one that is the smallest and cheapest.

At AUSTRIACARD, we aim to invest our resources and human capital in the most effective way. That is why we choose to invest in people and teams with high expertise, as evidenced by our recent acquisition of the data analysis and management company LSTech, based in the United Kingdom. LSTech’s high level of expertise in the banking, telecommunications, and utilities sectors, combined with its specialization in cutting-edge technologies such as Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), Privacy Preserving Analytics, and Machine Learning, highlights the company’s vision.

With the goal of standing with courage and dignity in the face of rapidly evolving global competition, we define our strategy and focus on providing holistic solutions for secure information management and processing, digitization, and automation. Ethical, labor, and social issues related to the digital transformation of businesses, as well as the public sector more broadly, are not sidelined. Instead, they form an integral part of the discussion for shaping our business strategy.

As a leading organization in the applied technology sector, we fully understand that in today’s era of technological acceleration, governments, businesses, and organizations that fail to achieve high levels of digital transformation and effectively utilize digital tools such as artificial intelligence and Big Data will inevitably be marginalized. The exceptional dynamism of our group’s R&D team positions us highly in terms of expertise, speed of service and response, and customer trust, while we also evolve as members of ACAG.

The post Fortune Magazine Greece: Interview with Spyros Sakellariou, our Group AI & Data Analytics Director appeared first on AUSTRIACARD.

Going Green: Solar Panel Initiatives Across Our Sites

Athina.Lykos@austriacard.at — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 09:57:38 +0000

Solar Panels at our headquarters in Austria

The image above showcases the rooftop solar panels at our headquarters in Vienna, Austria, featuring 300 modules that harness an impressive 450 kW each. This powerful installation underscores our commitment to sustainability and renewable energy. By utilizing solar power, we are significantly reducing our carbon footprint and contributing to a greener future.

See below for our solar panels at our sites in Greece and Romania, respectively.

Harnessing the Sun at Our Site in Greece

Optimizing Solar Power: Our Site in Romania

The post Going Green: Solar Panel Initiatives Across Our Sites appeared first on AUSTRIACARD.