Architecting Accountability in the AI-Centred Enterprise | Professor Alexeis Garcia Perez

"Technology gives us speed; only human wisdom gives us direction". Watch the Inaugural Professorial Lecture delivered by Alexeis Garcia Perez, Professor of Digital Business and Society at Aston University and Academic Director of the Aston-Capgemini Centre of Excellence for Enterprise AI. As organisations transition into the "Agentic Age", moving rapidly from tools that merely talk to autonomous systems that act, the primary corporate risk is no longer technical failure, but the widening Accountability Gap. In this lecture, Professor Garcia Perez examines the Knowledge Paradox: how enterprises are drowning in data yet starving for strategic wisdom. He introduces the Two-Loops Framework, a socio-technical architecture designed to bound computational agency (the Inner Loop) within human governance and strategic intent (the Outer Loop) via a critical Translation Layer of sense-making. Drawing upon two decades of empirical research and collaborations across national infrastructure, defence, and sustainable manufacturing, this talk outlines how modern leaders must evolve from passive users of technology into true Architects of Accountability. Timestamps: 00:00 - Welcome and Introduction by Vice-Chancellor Aleks Subic 06:33 - Opening Remarks: The 35-Year Academic Journey 08:11 - Mental Architecture: From the Blackboards of Havana to Cranfield 11:26 - The Knowledge Paradox: Drowning in Data, Starving for Wisdom 13:31 - The Two-Loops Framework: Inner Loop vs Outer Loop 16:02 - The Translation Layer and Sense-Making Interface 17:53 - The Accountability Gap: Drift, Speed, and the "Empty Steering Wheel" 21:11 - Reclaiming the Strategic Perimeter and First Principles 23:55 - Theoretical Foundations and Global Knowledge Management Collaborations 25:20 - Real-World Applications: Network Rail, Siemens, and Local Government Cybersecurity 32:45 - Building Knowledge Capital: The PhD Discovery Engine 36:59 - Business Capability, West Midlands Ecosystem, and Societal Resilience 40:03 - The Aston-Capgemini Centre of Excellence for Enterprise AI 42:13 - The 2026 Roadmap: Becoming Architects of Accountability 45:44 - Final Reflection: "Technology Gives Us Speed; Wisdom Gives Us Direction" 46:06 - Concluding Remarks & Medal Presentation by Interim VC Professor Mike Caine Key themes: • The Agentic Age and Computational Agency • The Knowledge Paradox and "Precisely Wrong Faster" • Two-Loops Architecture and Socio-Technical Sense-Making • Institutional Knowledge Capital and The PhD Discovery Engine • Aston-Capgemini Centre of Excellence for Enterprise AI Learn More and Connect: Aston-Capgemini Centre of Excellence for Enterprise AI: https://www.aston.ac.uk/research/bss/... Connect with Professor Alexeis Garcia Perez on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexeisgarcia Research and Publications: https://research.aston.ac.uk/en/perso... #EnterpriseAI #TwoLoopsFramework #AgenticAI #AstonUniversity #DigitalTransformation #KnowledgeManagement #ResponsibleAI