Siri or Alexa? Who is more eloquent? A legitimate question, because both language assistants are so technically mature, they could be called companions, rather than smart technologies. In our everyday life, they are increasingly omnipresent assisting us in all kinds of matters Whilst smartness and comfort are key reasons of the proven success of this technology, we should also ask ourselves how we as humans should position ourselves between all these technologies.
Using the application example of the financial sector, the keynote investigates the possible boundaries of artificial intelligence, especially within the sector of consulting services. The keynote will examine the extent to which the human factor can and must compensate deficits in exponential technologies. The findings on the micro level will be highlighted and set in relation to a larger context - the meta level. It will be explained, to what extent new developments pose new challenges to our coexistence and to what extent it is the responsibility of humans to safeguard a continued sociality. The keynote will also relate to the demographic challenges posed by digitalization. It may be particularly difficult for older sections of the population to cope with and adapt to new technical tools. If this part of the population is not addressed appropriately, society may be divided. It will also be shown - in addition to all the amenities that digital change entails - that there are also dangers and deficits that need to be addressed appropriately. Especially in the area of consulting sectors - such as the financial sector – the human factor is still proving very much irreplaceable as machines are still far from being able to take up and apply components vital in human interaction. We may have already seen examples of robots having displayed basic forms of human tendencies, such as acting empathetically and opening doors, yet the ability of machines to feel emotions and act accordingly is still experiencing boundaries in many ways.
What we must not forget to consider, is the fact that we can ask smart devices like Siri and Alexa anything, getting - within the scope of the technical possibilities - a smart and cheeky answer. Yet, let's ask ourselves to what extent these answers provide us with what we expect on the emotional side. After all, there are certain kinds of expectations only a real human being can meet.
The keynote will get to the bottom of sociological questions, explain what place the human factor occupies in the space of ever-evolving technologies and what requirements have to be met, especially in areas where consulting and service are in demand.
Key takeaways:
- The complexity of economic change has been enormous throughout the ages, the difference to current upheavals, however, lies in the time component
- Changes driven by exponential technologies affect not only companies at meso level, but our entire society at meta Level
- In order to drive change and be successful in the marketplace, it is important for the success of any business model to recognize not only global trends, but also local conditions
- Humans moves in between all areas of tension, caused byexpanding digitalization: being the initiator of all these change processes as well as being directly affected by them
-Leadership as well as an "efficient" change process becomes more important in disruptive times
- The "exponential technological progress" described in Moore's Law, however, is changing customer behaviour and the demand for more transparency and innovation, forcing banks to rethink
- Ongoing automation and artificial intelligence make life a little more pleasant every day but nevertheless there are boundaries, especially within the sector of consulting
- It is often forgotten that in monetary matters a soft, non-technology-driven factor is decisive for the conclusion of a financial transaction: Trust
