Pragmatism in Practice Powering innovation: Thoughtworks' AI journey
Apr 25, 2025
Jessie Xia, Global Chief Information Officer at ThoughtWorks, and Sara Michelazzo, Head of Innovation and Strategy, discuss their transformative AI journey. They detail early experiments using Google Gemini, running hackathons, and building cross-functional teams for safe AI adoption. Jessie and Sara emphasize balancing experimentation with measurable outcomes, highlighting 80% automation in IT support. They also explore Notebook LM use cases and the need for mindset shifts to achieve full AI integration, all while focusing on impactful business workflows.
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Early Gemini Pilot And Gen-AI Hackathon
- ThoughtWorks joined Google Gemini early and ran a gen-AI hackathon to build internal capability.
- Those pilots sparked organization-wide interest and led to more experiments in 2024.
Bring Compliance Into Experiments Early
- Collaborate across business and IT and include procurement, data protection and InfoSec early.
- Improve internal processes so you can move fast without compromising compliance.
AI-First Is A People-And-Process Shift
- Becoming 'AI-first' requires embedding AI in everyday software delivery roles, not just tooling.
- That shift guides what to build, buy, or consolidate based on real practitioner use.