How do I prepare for a panel discussion about artificial intelligence? Well, with AI of course. Linus Beck, editor at WELT and BUSINESS INSIDER, who moderated a panel discussion for the first time at the AI Prize ceremony, has built his own advisory board for his daily work. In it he collects opinions from experts, such as founders, investors and journalists, and thus receives pointed recommendations.
His three “panelists” on the podium would certainly also have earned a place on Beck’s advisory board: Susanne Arnoldy, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer at the auditor PwC Germany, the AI entrepreneur Chris Boos, who is also a jury member for the prize, and Jörg Schmücker, who works as a distinguished solutions strategist for the database management system MongoDB. Under the motto “From innovation to application”, they discussed how AI can really have an impact in business.
Business model changes and growth are interrelated. Susanne Arnoldy had figures ready about this. “An AI performance study says: Only 20 percent of companies that use AI are successful,” said the CTO of PricewaterhouseCoopers. “The interesting thing is: these companies are 7.2 times more successful from a financial perspective.” This means: “If I use AI correctly, I grow.”
A second big issue is the management level. “According to my motto, everyone must use AI, whether CEO or CFO.” She was a little shocked by a study published a few days ago. “She said: 47 percent of senior executives don’t understand AI at all.” Arnoldy believes that this is a user problem that the economy needs to address much more: “For me, technology also belongs on the board.” AI plays a role in all topics, whether production facilities, financial data or business strategy. Much more needs to be done here in Germany compared to other countries.
“People have to learn AI,” emphasized Chris Boos. There are even worse things than not using AI, as the unconventional entrepreneur and investor puts it in his usual nonchalant way: “If the manager asks the chatbot what he should do next, he should actually be stoned, because that is not a transformative question.” Jörg Schmücker from MongoDB also observes that at many levels in companies, people don't yet know how to use the new tool. The technology and strategy expert believes the organizational challenge is even more important: “We don’t yet know how to manage people who work with AI models.”
Change management was not only a topic at the panel, but also in the conversation that WELT-TV presenter Katja Losch had with Klaus Dohrmann. For the Head of Innovation & Trend Research at DHL, early involvement and communication with employees is the key to the successful introduction of new technologies. As a member of the jury for the German AI Prize, he is pleased that Robert Bosch, a traditional company that has developed a start-up mentality, was honored. His company DHL, one of the largest logistics companies in the world with 600,000 employees in 220 countries, works specifically with founders to promote innovation.
“Start-ups aren’t necessarily lining up at our door,” admitted Dohrmann. They want to change that, including with the Warehouse of Innovation website. “There we specifically approach start-ups, which can then enter the larger DHL world via this channel.” A world in which people often look for solutions even when they are not yet sure whether the problem in question will ever exist. “If we and the start-up manage to make a process faster or better in a small place, we could potentially do this in 220 countries.”
When it comes to investments, his industry still suffers from an image problem. Only two to three percent of venture capital flows into logistics start-ups, despite their high economic importance. This is one of the reasons why DHL has been publishing the “Trend Radar Logistics” for ten years to identify trends and promote open innovation.
Start-ups can accelerate innovation and integration of AI, but face resistance when purchasing from large companies. The quartet in the panel also emphasized this. Chris Boos, who presented the AI prize in the start-ups category that evening, knows two types of founders. "There are those who dream big and really want to change something fundamental and make us future-proof. They are often beaten to death in Germany because they don't immediately have a good business case. The second group are those who translate specific specialist knowledge into something that can be used immediately in business." His conclusion: Our economy would be well positioned if more start-ups were allowed into companies.
To make the internal resistance understandable, Susanne Arnoldy made a comparison with the Christmas goose: "If I were to ask the goose, would you like to sit on the table for Christmas, it would probably say: without me. Likewise, people whose business area is questioned naturally have problems cannibalizing themselves." You have to find the right people who can question things. This also creates new business ideas and business areas, according to the PwC expert.
Accepting a new innovation, adopting it and making it practical takes time, emphasized Jörg Schmücker. You not only have to spread knowledge, but also take away people's fear that they will suddenly no longer have a job. "There are always short-term and long-term winners in these technology innovations. But in the end, we all win." The potential in the software industry alone, where an incredible increase in productivity is possible, convinces the MongoDB expert, who is experienced in banking, that it is worth taking the risk. “We should deal with the problems when we have them and not fix everything now.”
Since industrialization, people have been required to work like machines, says Chris Boos. "So we had to invent marketing and quality control and all that stuff. But it makes people unhappy." The greatest opportunity here lies in technological development: “People can be people again.”
