June 26-28, 2026
What a weekend! Hot weather, hot topics, and deep and challenging peer learning sessions at the conference “Managing the AI Transition – from Hype to Action” in Berlin Schwanenwerder.
It has been fantastically organized and supported by the Alumni der Studienstiftung e.V. And it gave us the opportunity to discuss AI on multiple levels, beyond the pure technical aspects:
- the organizational dimension: which enterprise adoption patterns have proven to be successful, what are common traps that let projects fail?
- the national and geopolitical dimension: what is needed for Germany and Europe to be still a relevant player, what does sovereignty mean in the age of AI, and how can this be achieved by staying true to our values (e.g. still keeping a high focus on privacy)
- the human and ethical dimension: we saw deep and considerate reflections into ethical dilemmata and how to approach them carefully, minimizing bias, enhancing people’s chances, but still serving business needs
Overall, the format of the conference really shined when it came to intense exchange between peers. 45-60 minute sessions dedicated to a single topic allowed for going deep and really take away learnings and build connections – much more than on conventional industry events.
&ai set a counterpoint in two sessions. On Friday, we opened the conference some chamber music together with two more participants, both great musicians.
And Saturday night, we had the opportunity to do a keynote on how AI is changing music and how it impacts our skill development and (creative) decision making. The audience was very engaged, and we took a lot of feedback and questions. For example, what is your take on our decision to go for a human logo designer instead of using straight an AI image generator? Is this the right ethical move or just ‘dinosaur behavior’?
The society’s stand on these question is evolving. Let’s shape it together!