Humans and Algorithms

Objectives and research questions

Digital transformation has been changing our businesses for about 60 years. We used to refer to technology as “computers”, sometimes as hardware and software, and grouped them under the collective terms information technology or data processing.

Today, because almost every product is a “computer” and the trend toward “smart devices” is penetrating all areas of our lives, many experts speak more generally of algorithms doing their job in some kind of “device” instead of “software.” One form of algorithm that is just being hyped is Artificial Intelligence.

 

Our research questions on the topic of “People and Algorithms” are:

  • Do we make the digital transformation of our business a top priority?
  • What should every entrepreneur and manager understand about algorithms?
  • Who is responsible for the use of algorithms in the company?
  • What are the benefits of Artificial Intelligence for business processes?
  • What does the (future) interaction between humans and Artificial Intelligence look like?

Current readings on Artificial Intelligence

Boden, Margaret A (2016) AI. Its nature and future. Oxford UP, Oxford

Fry, Hannah (2018) Hello World. How to Be Human in the Age of the Machine. Doubleday, London

Gigerenzer, Gerd (2022) How to Remain Smart in a Smart World. Penguin, London

Koenig, Gaspard (2021) Das Ende des Individuums. Reise eines Philosophen in die Welt der Künstlichen Intelligenz.  Galiani, Berlin

Lee, Kai-Fu (2018) AI Superpowers. China, Silicon Valley, and the new world Order. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harourt.

Tegmark, Max (2017) Life 3.0. Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Allen Lane, London

Walsh, Toby (2019) 2026. Das Jahr, in dem die künstliche Intelligenz uns ebenbürtig sein wird. Riva Verlag, München (Das Original ist im Jahr 2018 bei La Trobe UP unter dem Titel 2062. The World That AI Made erschienen

Warwick, Kevin (2012) Artificial Intelligence. The Basics. Routledge, London

Zweig, Katharina (2019) Ein Algorithmus hat kein Taktgefühl. Wo künstliche Intelligenz sich irrt, warum uns das betrifft und was wir dagegen tun können. Heyne, München

Impulses from our think tank

Böck, Josef (2019) Digitale Transformation und Führungspraxis. Stuttgart: Schäffer-Poeschel, 2019.

Training for Digital Transformation Managers