At the Panoramai AI Summit, Barthélémy Rochat, Chief Digital Officer for the City of Bienne, delivered a provocative challenge to conventional AI adoption wisdom. Drawing on five years of municipal transformation experience, he advocated for foundational organizational change before technological deployment.

The Anti-Bullshit Manifesto

Rochat's central thesis proved both controversial and compelling: « We should not deliver AI bullshit ». His criticism targeted what he sees as a dangerous trend in public administration: « If you try to do the opposite, and if you start with AI first, you just get public paid AI bullshit ». This extends beyond mere inefficiency to fundamental questions of public responsibility and taxpayer accountability.

Process-First Philosophy

« I'm really a youth of fan of technology. This is part of my job. But the reality on the field is that you can be more efficient when you work with people and culture and mindset », Rochat clarified, positioning himself as strategically cautious rather than technophobic. His five-year tenure has focused on organizational restructuring, process optimization, and cultural change—delivering greater efficiency gains than any AI deployment could achieve short-term.

Strategic AI Integration

When challenged about AI as a municipal cost-saving mechanism, Rochat remained firm: « Not in the short term ». However, he acknowledges using AI pilots as catalysts for organizational change: « We do pilots, we do projects to really take the opportunity to change how we work through technology ». His approach involves bidirectional transformation—using technology projects to drive cultural change while ensuring organizational readiness for technological advancement.

The Competitive Timeline

Rochat's perspective challenges Silicon Valley narratives of rapid deployment, arguing that sustainable AI implementation requires patient foundation-building. His experience suggests that organizations achieving process mastery first can implement AI more effectively than those pursuing technology-first strategies. This positions disciplined organizational development as a competitive advantage rather than a constraint.

Key Achievement: Rochat demonstrated how public sector leaders can challenge private sector AI adoption models while maintaining innovation credibility, positioning organizational excellence as the foundation for successful AI transformation.