A few thoughts on the Age of AI - Perspectives from Europe: Part 1: Entrepreneurial spirit

Let me start with a quote from Yuval Noah Harari: ?We live in most exciting times. No one on earth currently knows what the world will look like in ten years from now.“ While this sounds frightening, it is also the most exciting and decisive time since decades if not centuries. Living in the country of engineers and hidden champions you might think that this drives an unprecedented atmosphere for entrepreneurial spirit and innovation. Sadly, I can only see tiny sparks of this spirit in Europe. I am very happy to be part of the most significant one.

I have been speaking at numerous conferences and closed door events meeting hundreds of business owners, CEOs, or top managers in the last few weeks only. Speaking broadly (obviously there are noticeable and outstanding exceptions but this is about the general impression), there is the understanding that some involvement in AI is already enough to stay competitive. Others mention that despite exceptional profits the company decided to cut costs instead of investing into new technologies.

To be clear:?In a few years, AI will be everywhere.?It needs to be at the core of every company's strategy

Showcases, applications in one or the other internal function, or other small steps will not help to differentiate but merely - if at all - to keep up. Real differentiation comes on top. There will be the thousands of tools and applications that drive efficiency, customer satisfaction or quality that requires a transformation of the company and the very few really unique cases that allow companies to build competitive advantage. Companies need to get ready urgently.?

Both aspects, transformation and disruption, make AI a CEO priority and similarly at the advisory board level for market leaders and hidden champions.?

Consequently, investments into AI should come from both an innovation budget and the more operational investments of functional units. AI should internally be managed accordingly. Too many companies are still reticent and take too small steps. We need to leave the trial and error mode and follow a more future-orientated mindset with a comprehensive approach to AI.?

As industry, we should not blame politics for “lost years”, if we don’t do our job ourselves. Why not using AI at scale to become much more energy efficient instead of asking for subsidized electricity prices? As a world market leader, it is not about keeping up with all others. The goal should be to lead in innovation and application of AI. I will share my insights into both approaches in the next few weeks in a set of articles regarding AI for businesses.?Sadly, the impression I get from all the talks with politics on a European and German level are very similar so I will also share some insights here as well.

• The mindblowing speed of innovation in AI and the task of leaders to think ahead
• The state of societal and political discussions and the task of politicians to prepare our country for future AI
• Using AI in Business Functions to drive immediate value creation and “learn by doing”
• The concept of AI maturity and how creating value with AI can be trained
• The global race and Europe’s position

What are your experiences regarding the adoption of AI and the C-Level attention? How do you see the adoption of AI in Europe compared to other regions? What is your impression about the readiness of Europe?