AI’s expanding influence: leadership, innovation & the future of tech ??

Artificial intelligence is reshaping industries, leadership, and innovation at an unprecedented pace. In this edition of //next, we explore how AI is transforming the role of managers, enhancing weather forecasting, and redefining human-machine collaboration. We also take a deep dive into the future of autonomous driving and let you listen to the best podcast no one ever recorded via Google’s NotebookLM. Plus, discover how GenAI is influencing the insurance sector and beyond. Dive in and stay ahead of the curve!

1. How leadership is changing in the AI era

In times when artificial intelligence can take on many tasks – and will take on more and more – the role of managers is also changing. “It is becoming increasingly important to engage in a continuous dialogue with employees. Managers need to build proximity and establish personal contact,” says ERGO Labour Director Dr. Lena Lindemann in the New Leadership Podcast.

>>> Listen to Lena Lindemann’s take on the future of leadership

2. Are weather forecasts finally getting better with AI?

Extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, and heavy rainfall have been increasing for years, both in terms of perception and statistics. The natural disaster figures for 2024 from @Munich Re leave no doubt about this once again. These events are a sign of climate change, for which politics, the economy, and society as a whole must prepare. Precise weather and climate forecasts will therefore become even more important in the coming years. But what technologies can help??

>>> Climate and weather forecasts: How AI is helping with predictions

3. The best podcast I never recorded

The question of what artificial intelligence can actually do well is as old in public debate as the question of whether Julian Nagelsmann is a good national football coach. Every day, new AI tools hit the market – most of them specialized for niche tasks but excelling at what they do. Curiosity drives our //next author Markus Sekulla to constantly explore and test these new tools. Today, he took a closer look at Google’s NotebookLM, which has recently been further integrated into the Google ecosystem.

>>> Read more about Markus Sekulla’s NotebookLM experiment

4. The evolutionary path to the autonomous car

What are the five levels of autonomous driving, which of them have already been achieved in practice – and what role do assistance systems play in this journey? According to //next author Falk Hedemann , the technological digitalization of the entire vehicle is much more important than the mere electrification of the engines. And there is good news for German carmakers: they are leading in many areas!?

>>> Discover the future of autonomous driving

5. GenAI is fundamentally reshaping the role of humans

Generative AI is developing at a rapid pace, and its influence on industries such as insurance is becoming more and more tangible. The ERGO Innovation Lab is intensively exploring the potential of multimodal AI and has recently published a second white paper on this topic – just one year after the first. In this interview, Georgina Neitzel , Head of the ERGO Innovation Lab, talks about the motivation behind the white paper and the opportunities and challenges posed by GenAI.?

>>> Interested in AI’s impact? Our white paper’s got you covered

?? There are many more stories waiting for you on our online magazine //next on ergo.com!

If you have any ideas for stories, columns, interviews or want to contribute with your expertise: You are welcome!