{"id":18791,"date":"2025-11-13T15:17:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T14:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dp-institute.eu\/?p=18791"},"modified":"2025-11-13T15:17:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T14:17:23","slug":"teacher-in-the-spotlight-pieter-buteneers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dp-institute.eu\/en\/teacher-in-the-spotlight-pieter-buteneers\/","title":{"rendered":"Teacher in the spotlight: Pieter Buteneers"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this section, we want to put a teacher in the spotlight by asking them a handful of questions posed by DPI.<\/p>\n

Pieter Buteneers<\/a>, CTO & Co-Founder @ Emma Legal and lecturer is\u00a0happy to answer them.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Interview<\/h2>\n

Can you briefly explain your role within DPI and what type of training courses you provide?<\/h3>\n

I feature Module 4 in the AI for DPOs<\/a> course, where we take a closer look at how data is used by AI models, what the pitfalls are, and how you can avoid them.<\/p>\n

What do you consider to be the biggest challenge for professionals in your field today?<\/h3>\n

As CTO of Emma Legal<\/a>, a platform that supports lawyers with AI to perform legal due diligence, we are constantly looking for ways to package the power of AI in the most user-friendly way for our users.<\/p>\n

How do you try to combine theory and practice in your courses?<\/h3>\n

As CTO at Emma Legal and my previous startups, Chatlayer.ai and Transfo.energy, I have been dealing with AI models and their shortcomings on a daily basis for years. I therefore try to use the situations I have encountered in practice as examples in my lessons.<\/p>\n

In addition, my lessons are highly interactive<\/strong>, and I encourage participants to come to class with their own questions or cases<\/strong>. This is an enjoyable challenge for me as a teacher and makes it all the more tangible for the participants.<\/p>\n

What motivates you to share your knowledge with students?<\/h3>\n

AI is often treated as a very serious matter<\/strong> and is usually sold as a highly complex black box, even though what’s under the hood isn’t necessarily that complex<\/strong>. I enjoy dispelling that myth and giving even the least technical participants a feel for the technology, which goes much deeper than just applying a few standard rules.<\/p>\n

What are common questions or themes that participants struggle with?<\/h3>\n

Of course, privacy is a frequent topic of discussion<\/strong>, which I, as a privacy enthusiast, find particularly compelling. Questions such as: what happens to my\/the data, why is data necessary, how can I utilize AI in my organization<\/strong> without OpenAI or competitors gaining access to my trade secrets.<\/p>\n

In addition, we often delve deeper into how AI models can be effectively applied to specific use cases.<\/p>\n

Which developments or trends do you follow closely within your field?<\/h3>\n

As an AI geek, I am extremely interested in the latest models coming onto the market, whether open-source or not. They are often accompanied by scientific articles in which the creators of the models explain exactly how they arrived at this groundbreaking result.<\/p>\n

I also closely follow how the major players are dealing with the implementation of the AI Act and how we, as users of these models, can remain compliant.<\/p>\n

What do you think distinguishes a strong program from an average one?<\/h3>\n

A good training program brings together different teachers, each with a different perspective. And in my opinion, it requires teachers who:<\/p>\n