Inspiration instead of German Angst
It was more than just an ordinary breakfast: leading figures from the worlds of business and politics met at the Weisswurst breakfast in Davos in January. The participants had traveled from Munich together with Luxon Rail for this special event. Host Werner Theiner, Deputy Chairman of the Board of German Mittelstand e. V., had invited speakers including Chandler Morse, Vice President Public Policy at Workday, Michael Lipka from Huawei Germany and Bernhard Huter from EMC Home of Data.
Inspiration instead of fear
"Between 'America First' and 'China Speed', we must not be driven by 'German Angst', but rather 'Inspiration Germany' must lead the way," said Theiner, summarizing the basic mood of the meeting. This positive view was underpinned by Chandler Morse with concrete data.
The Workday manager presented findings from the current study "Elevating Human Potential: The AI Skills Revolution", which shows: The more experience companies gain with AI, the more optimistic they are about its impact. Active AI users rate the technology significantly more positively (4.23 out of 5 points) than companies that are just planning to get started (3.89 points).
Trust as the foundation of AI
"Trust is the currency of digital transformation," emphasized Morse. "It's like a car - the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror because looking ahead is more important." With advocacy teams in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, Workday works closely with policy makers to create frameworks that encourage rather than hinder innovation.
AI skills revolution
The results of the study show that 93% of active AI users report that the technology allows them to focus better on higher-level tasks such as strategy development and problem solving. Particularly revealing: while 82% of employees assume that the need for interpersonal interaction will increase in the age of AI, only 65% of managers share this view.
"The key question is not whether AI will replace people, but how we can use it to unlock human potential," Morse explained to the select group of more than 20 representatives from the German SME sector. "People will not use technologies that they do not trust. It is therefore about skills such as ethical decision-making, relationship building and emotional intelligence." Workday's "Human in the Loop" approach reflects this philosophy: "We don't develop tools that make fully automated decisions. Instead, we use AI to provide people with a better basis for decision-making."
Outlook: Humans and AI
The message of the Weißwurst breakfast in Davos was clear: the future does not lie in competition between humans and machines, but in their cooperation. "If you want to shape the future, you have to be part of the movement," summarized host Theiner - a movement that wants to actively shape the opportunities of the AI revolution under the motto "Inspiration Germany".
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