Module D1 · Understanding AI Without Jargon · Executive Leaders Track · 2026
Module D1 · Half-day · Executive Leaders Track

Understanding AI
Without Getting Lost
in the Jargon

What every executive must understand — without a single line of code

AI is not a revolution to be delegated to the CIO. It is a strategic disruption that every member of the Executive Committee must be able to read, question, and arbitrate. This module provides the keys to cut through the jargon, understand what AI actually does — and demand the right evidence before greenlighting an investment.

Executive objectives
01Distinguish ML, GenAI, and Agentic AI — in a 3-minute presentation
02Identify the 3 critical limitations that engage executive liability
03Master the 5 questions to systematically ask your AI teams
04Adopt the right posture: neither full delegation nor paralysis through ignorance
Executive Committee SME · Mid-Cap · Enterprise Leaders CEO · Deputy CEO · Business Unit Directors No technical prerequisites
Pejman Gohari · CDO · Chief AI Officer · ORBii
25 years in the field · DataLab SG · Data Factory Bpifrance · BPCE SI · DUNOD Author · IESEG Professor
academy.orbii.tech
ORBii.Academy · D1 · Understanding AI Without Jargon · Executive Leaders TrackConfidential · 202601
D1 · Understanding AI · 02
Section 1

What AI is — and what it is not

"AI is not intelligence. It is a highly sophisticated statistical system that recognizes patterns in massive datasets. What it does very well: synthesize, classify, predict. What it does not do: understand, judge, or reason autonomously."
— Pejman Gohari · CDO · Chief AI Officer · ORBii · DUNOD Author 2022/2024

The prodigy advisor metaphor

Imagine a consultant who has read 10 billion corporate documents. They can answer any question with fluency and apparent precision. They can draft a convincing strategic brief. But they have no idea whether their advice fits your specific context — and if you ask about a topic they haven't seen, they will fabricate an answer that sounds correct.

This is exactly what generative AI does. It generates what is statistically probable, not what is true. Fluency of output does not guarantee accuracy of substance.

What "training a model" actually means
Pattern recognition, not comprehension
An AI model learns by analyzing millions of examples. It identifies statistical correlations: "when we see A, B usually follows." It does not understand the meaning of A or B. This is why it can produce incorrect answers with total confidence — hallucination is not a bug, it is a structural limitation of the architecture.

The 3 families of AI — what every executive must distinguish

Classical AI · ML — Mature
Predict from historical data

Credit scoring, fraud detection, segmentation. In production for 10+ years. Reliable when data quality is sound. Risk: amplified historical biases.

Generative AI · LLM — Rapid Deployment
Generate text, summarize, converse

ChatGPT, Claude, Mistral. Useful for drafting, summarization, internal Q&A. Human oversight mandatory — hallucinations possible at any time.

Agentic AI — Emerging 2026
Act autonomously in chains

The agent makes decisions, executes tasks, and calls systems without human intervention at each step. Critical governance required. Executive Committee decision needed.

ORBii.Academy · D1 · Understanding AI Without Jargon · Executive Leaders TrackConfidential · 202602
Protected Content

You have viewed the preview of this module (first 2 pages).
To access the full content, enter your access code or request access.

3 pages remaining Personal link · Valid 24h