Top international speakers share ideas and perspectives on “Together We Are Unlimited”

Ian Beacraft, one of the leading voices on AI and the Future of Work — and a top speaker at SXSW — opened the Innovation Day with a keynote. Beacraft reflected on the sweeping paradigm shift emerging through AI: Not only our tasks and jobs will be changed by AI, but also entire organizations and ecosystems. In the future, he emphasized, it’s not just the pace at which we work that will be different, but the very system that defines what work even is: 

“Just as the Industrial Revolution moved us from physical doing labor to mechanically doing labor, we are now shifting from doing the work to designing the work — in collaboration with AI. When AI implements something today that humans used to be paid for, it reduces human impact — and that is precisely the core of the anxiety around AI. The more our work is executed by algorithms, the more our sense of agency shrinks — unless we redefine our role, from operators to designers.”

In the panel discussion with Carsten Knop, one of the publishers of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Prof. Dr. Carlo Masala, security expert and professor of international politics, called on Europe to act with greater courage. Europe, he observed, stands at strategic crossroads in a new geopolitical reality. The time when Europeans could rely on historical privileges in trade and alliances is over:

“To maintain its influence, Europe must urgently become more pragmatic, flexible, and strategically bold — forge new partnerships and accept short-term sacrifices to secure long-term sovereignty. In a world where others are actively playing the strategic game, watching from the sidelines is no longer an option.”

Dr. Léa Steinacker, award-winning journalist, social scientist, and entrepreneur, also took the Innovation Day stage. She drew attention to the fundamental transformations of our world through AI, emphasizing that AI should be understood as a groundbreaking and fundamental set of technologies — comparable far more to electricity as a whole than to any single tool. She left the audience with a sense of optimism about the world ahead:

“In the future, we should not let ourselves be inspired by cognitive intelligence alone. The future lies in symbiosis, not substitution: in uniting diverse forms of intelligence to create more than anyone could achieve alone.”

The program on the Main Stage was rounded off by a true “Inspiration Highlight”: Shirin David, one of Germany's most popular musician and influential entrepreneur. In a talk with Dr. Marc Schumacher, she shared insights about her career and the value of communities in the creator economy. 

The question of how to remain relevant as an artist or brand and constantly develop oneself has driven Shirin throughout her career. In doing so, she has realised that “you can only identify trends early on by stepping outside your comfort zone.” Shirin David sees the future of marketing in the creator economy: “The creator economy is turning everything upside down and needs to be taken more seriously by brands. The only risk is a shitstorm. It's a shame that many companies don't dare to take that risk.”

A total of 26 masterclasses focused on personal exchange in small groups. Top-class experts provided insights into the latest trends in the marketing and communications industry. 

In the masterclass “New thinking, smart tools: How AI is reframing the full media value chain,” Dr. Marc Egger (RTL Germany) and Meiko Reissmann (Ad Alliance) showed how AI is restructuring everyday marketing and enabling efficiency gains. In the session “Trust is better – Strategies to build up and protect your reputation,” Carsten Knop (F.A.Z.) discussed the role of trust in the age of AI – and how brands and media can actively shape and protect it – together with Martell Beck (Deutsche Bahn) and Ingo Müller (REPUBLIC). In their masterclass "Navigating AI transformation: A playbook for executive leaders," Eva Simone Lihotzky (Serviceplan AI Lab) and Benno Blumoser (Siemens AI Lab) presented the benefits of AI for executives. 

In addition, experts from the Serviceplan Group, LAYA Group, and partners such as Adobe, Samsung Ads, The Trade Desk, and other companies provided practical insights into topics such as AI & technology, content, customer experience, and brand management.