Walter Riviera

**For the Italian version of the post, click HERE

“We learn from our mistakes,” as the saying goes, and I’ve always been convinced of this. But then I understood that to accelerate growth, we can also learn from others’ mistakes. That’s why, right now that I’ve reached a satisfying career peak, I’ve decided to quit the job I’ve loved so much, at the company that changed my life.

No, I don’t have a better job offer waiting for me on the table. I haven’t won the lottery or reached burnout either. I still need to work and, unlike other times, I don’t have a very clear vision of what will happen. Yet, there’s something else that reassures me in this choice.

It seems like a contradiction, but there’s a common thread, a perspective that explains this decision. I’ll share it in this article, clarifying:

• Where it all began

• The moment of truth

• The courage to start over

• What awaits me

“Remember that by saying “yes” you are implicitly saying “no” to something else. Each time you make a commitment, you forfeit your chance to commit to something else.” ― Andrew S. Grove, High Output Management

Where it all began

In this era of Artificial Intelligence, being a computer engineer specialized in that field provides great stability, especially if you’ve earned a role with levels of autonomy in a tech giant with 100,000 employees that has been innovating for over 50 years like Intel Corporation. An extraordinary company that changed my life by allowing me to travel the world: 22 countries and over 300 flights in 8 years. It taught me to maintain clarity in frenetic rhythms, to contribute to multimillion-dollar projects, and allowed me to live unique international experiences.

But with all these advantages, why did I choose to leave?

Thanks to testimonies from some colleagues and friends much more senior than me, some even approaching retirement, a recurring piece of advice emerged: learn to manage work-life balance well before finding yourself with regrets for having dedicated your best energy to the company while leaving the rest to the scraps of the day.

I don’t regret the years of sacrifice I made because they’re what allowed me to reach important milestones, but a very delicate family situation triggered an alarm bell inside me and led me to recalibrate my priorities. At least for the next few months, I need to have full control over my days.

To redesign the calendar, I need to put myself out there to experiment with a new approach, different from the one I’ve been following lately.

The moment of truth

The last 4 years have been rich with efforts. Efforts transformed into achievements of which I keep many stories, but I’ll limit myself to reporting them in one line to avoid boring you:

• Promoted to Technical Lead in AI for Europe, Middle East, and Africa
• Earned a PhD in AI, in federated learning
• Published 8 scientific articles (6 in international journals) and co-authored the book “The Algorithm of Equality” with a preface by Liliana Segre
• Appeared on TV: from Cattelan su Rai3, to SkyTG24, TEDx, collaborated with Geopop and major Italian radio stations
• Named by “La Repubblica” as one of the 500 talents that matter in AI, toured Italy’s schools with Corriere della Sera, and interviewed by Forbes sul futuro dell’AI
• Wrote a theatrical show “Did AI Steal My Job?” to help raise awareness among non-experts
• Named “Volunteer of the Year” by Junior Achievement for my commitment to high school students
• Taught a class to Stanford graduate students and organized university courses
• Opened a VAT number and invested energy in educational channels for non-experts on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube

All this while continuing to do my job at Intel, helping clients across 3 continents develop new AI-based projects and receiving various awards.

A list of personal achievements that makes me proud but conceals a crucial question: what did I give up? What price did I pay to reach them?

The answer I gave myself led me to reconsider my priorities and make a choice that the future Walter, perhaps 70 years old, would probably validate with eyes closed, but that generates a lot of fears and uncertainties for today’s me.

The courage to start over

It’s not the first time I’ve been afraid, I’ll face it as always.

I was afraid when I quit my job as a metalworker in a factory to end up in Morocco as an entertainer in a tourist village, leaving family and friends behind. I was afraid when I left a promotion as head entertainer in the Maldives to enroll in university in a city I didn’t know. I was afraid when I found myself in Edinburgh without a job and just enough money in my account to pay the last rent and a return ticket. I was afraid every time at the beginning of my job when they spoke to me in English and I didn’t understand what I had to do. I was afraid on stage in front of 300 people or on live TV.

It’s not the first time I’ve heard a quirky little voice in my head suggesting a different path from the main road. As a child, I was afraid to follow it. Now I follow it despite the fear because you get good at choosing even by making mistakes, and making mistakes with your own head is one of the most effective ways that has allowed me to grow. Looking beyond those fears, there’s a project I can scale for myself so that the new priorities are respected. I find this aspect extremely stimulating and I can’t wait to put myself out there.

So the future plan involves saying yes to many things I had put aside in recent years while continuing to stay in my favorite field, AI, in different capacities:

• Speaking services for events and corporate training at an international level, plus professional consulting for a limited number of clients (to avoid unsustainable rhythms)
• Space for learning: I’ll allow myself more time to deepen my study of methods and software that I’ll then share with you through the new YouTube channel
• Italian tour of my theatrical show “Did ‘AI’ Steal My Job?” to raise awareness even among non-experts, between a laugh and food for thought

All this managed while keeping an eye on the calendar, to leave space for family, for myself, and for everything new that might happen.

You know, training an AI model to do something is very satisfying… but training your horse to respond to your call is also very rewarding, and there are many analogies in the processes 🙂

What awaits me?

I want to give myself time to experiment with current activities and see how far I go. It’s the first time I’m my own employer for non-secondary projects, that I’m totally my own employer. If I discover it’s not for me, I’m always in time to change course and retrace my steps, or change countries. For now, I want to try to put myself out there here, in Italy, at home.

If you’d like to stay in touch or work with me, here’s how:

• Let’s bring the AI Show Tour to life: through sponsorships or contacts. There are already 5 dates in the works that I’ll announce soon, and 3 more under discussion. We still have time to extend the initiative
• Through the website or social channels for speaking engagements and corporate training
• Interact with my channels and let me know if they’re useful: I think making AI more understandable is not just useful but necessary. Especially for non-experts. I believe those who are a bit more informed have a moral duty to share to remove fears and easy enthusiasms. Every like, comment, or content share is a great help for those who educate!

Before closing, I thank Intel for everything it allowed me to learn, professionally and personally. AI is a marathon and I don’t think even the first kilometer has been run; it’s a story that needs to be written and I wish the company to continue being a protagonist in it.