… my kick-off blog article on my new website couldn’t start with a more lasting topic.
While heading back from Berlin to Munich, I am reflecting on the past days at the IPMA World Congress (organized by IPMA, the International Project Management Association and our German institution GPM Deutsche Gesellschaft für Projektmanagement e. V.). Days filled with valuable network connections – both old and new – and inspiring impulses on Shaping the Future with Project Management.
I will share with you in this and the next blog articles some of my personal highlights of the IPMA world congress. Insights that struck me deeply – whether by accelerating my learning curve, making me nod in agreement, triggering a pause for thought, or simply creating one of those ‘aha’ moments. My reflections and key takeaways in this article build on impulses from one of the keynotes:
IPMA World Congress Keynote – Ethical Responsibility in Innovation, by Prof. Dr. Alena Buyx
Alena Buyx – one of the leading ethics professors in Germany (Technical University of Munich, former chair of the German Ethics Council) – shared in her keynote insights from her work on “Ethical Responsibility in Innovation”, especially in respect to AI. She reminded us that November 2022, when ChatGPT popped up, changed everything – for all of us. Buyx calls it an Oppenheimer moment. She emphasized that this moment marked an era-defining change, bringing ethical responsibilities to the forefront when it comes to powerful innovations like AI.
Against this backdrop, she highlighted why AI can never be considered superior to human beings. It possesses impressive statistical intelligence, but this cannot be equated with human intelligence. Human intelligence may not be as fast or as good in pattern recognition, yet it is far broader in scope. Fear, pain, doubt, and above all our social nature – our constant orientation toward other human beings – make us conscious beings. AI, by contrast, is a stochastic machine, operating on probabilities, that can only simulate human qualities. This is why the final decision must always rest with humans. AI will never be capable of assuming responsibility for a decision. As Buyx put it:
“Rule of ethics: AI applications must enhance human action, never diminish it, and under no circumstances replace human beings.”
As a final point, she stressed that AI models are deliberately designed to appear empathetic, caring, and affirming – always with the goal of keeping people engaged on the platform. It is therefore no surprise that “relationship AI” is rapidly becoming one of the most popular consumer uses of AI – which I see as a symptom of the lack of social connection and belonging in contemporary human society.
My Key Takeaways – How To Proceed With AI
As an individual:
- AI will not replace the human as such. But humans who don’t use AI at all or who don’t use AI responsibly and consciously will be replaced by those who do.
- The technology is here to stay, so make it part of your processes.
- Always remember: Every AI is based on its implemented objectives. Model alignment heavily influences the output. Not knowing its characteristics – and not being able to influence them – is the major risk.
- Apply AI with a healthy skepticism and a no-trust approach: Be aware that handling the AI output is your responsibility. Stay in the driver’s seat by performing critical reviews on any AI output and making the final judgment yourself.
As an organization:
- Push hard for the needed culture change – every employee must act with a leadership mindset by taking over a dedicated level of responsibility for their own actions taken with AI.
- Employees who combine ethical awareness and technological knowledge, who use AI responsibly and consciously, are your key assets for a future-proof organization.
- Long-term competitive advantage does not come from replacing employees with AI, but from enhancing your team with AI-trained employees who add their indispensable experience and social dimension to AI outputs.
- And – last but not least – the most important key takeaway: Act with awareness and ethical responsibility in your transformation projects – also at the organizational level. That’s the only way they can become outstanding success stories.
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