Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to what people ask most. The detail is in the playbook clients receive and in the contract.
The service
- What does Cognia do?
- Cognia ehf. is my advisory practice, Ragnar Agustsson's, in Reykjavík. I help companies put AI to use, from strategy and priorities to building solutions on the company's own data, and I measure the result wherever that is possible. I work inside the company, with your people.
- Who is Ragnar Agustsson?
- I have built and run systems for 25 years, mostly in financial services. I spent eleven years in London, ran software development at Landsbankinn and was Head of IT at Fossar Investment Bank. I founded Sóley, and I graduate with an Executive MBA from the University of Iceland in 2027.
- What is a fractional CAIO?
- A fractional Chief AI Officer leads a company's AI work without being on the payroll: priorities, the usage policy, the rules that come with every solution, review of vendors and reporting to the board. I can lead and build, or lead only, whichever suits you. I hold no line authority and no signing authority.
- What is an agent?
- A program that reads your data and does a defined job under rules you set, for example analysing revenue and costs or customer communication, or a summary from your systems, whether that is the finance system, a CRM, a service desk or a booking system. At first a person approves every write.
- How does an engagement start?
- With a conversation, often after the self-assessment on cognia.is, and a free first call. Then an assessment, which starts by rethinking the work: if we were building this today, would we build it this way? Then we pick the jobs that pay, each with a measure and a baseline, and I tell you plainly whether it pays.
- When does the first solution go live?
- It depends on the job and the systems, and I tell you after the assessment. At first a person approves every write, and the old way stays available until the new one has proven itself.
Pricing and scope
- What does it cost?
- It depends on the size of the company and the job. The first call is free. After it you get material and a proposal shaped to you. Models and cloud always run on your own accounts at cost.
Data and ownership
- Who owns what is built?
- You do. The code, data, keys, accounts and every environment are in your name from the first day. You are tied neither to me nor to any technology vendor, and you can carry on without me. Nor do I want you to trade one vendor lock-in for another.
- Where does the data live?
- Everything we build and store lives in your own systems. The model runs, for example, on Amazon Web Services inside its European geography, on your own AWS account. AWS is then the data processor and Anthropic has no access to prompts or outputs. The account is set to retain nothing, and your data is never used for training. If another path suits you better, it is written down.
- What about privacy and a data processing agreement?
- You remain the controller of the personal data, and it is processed on your own accounts. Where an agent handles personal data, we sign a data processing agreement and complete a short privacy impact assessment before it goes live. Processing is governed by the GDPR as implemented in Icelandic law. The agents never train models on your data.
- Which AI model do you use?
- Usually Claude from Anthropic. Every agent has a fallback model from another maker that is tested regularly, so you can switch without a rebuild. Simpler agents can also run on an open model on your own machine.
- What if an agent makes a mistake?
- Payments, contracts and changes to customer records always need a named person's approval. Every action is written to an audit log you keep, and you can stop any agent at once without me.
Interests
- Are you independent?
- No vendor pays me. I take no commission or referral fees and earn nothing if you pick another tool or build it yourselves. Every recommendation to buy or build names the alternatives considered.
- What are your own interests?
- I own Sóley, a booking channel for Icelandic tourism. I say so in the first meeting. You can exclude my companies at any time.
Contact
- How do I get in touch?
- Email ragnar@cognia.is, phone +354 787 0886 or LinkedIn. Tell me which systems you run and what you want to change.
- Do you work outside Iceland?
- Yes, in English and Icelandic, on site in Reykjavík or remotely across Europe.