How Does Artificial Intelligence Shape the Future of Business and Politics? International Business Conference BiCAB Provides Insights
HSBI’s Bielefeld School of Business invited national and international policymakers, business experts and academics to the fourth BiCAB Conference to discuss how Artificial Intelligence will shape the future of business and politics.
Bielefeld (hsbi). Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a topic of the future – it is already transforming business models, decision-making processes and social structures. The fourth Bielefeld International Conference on Applied Business (BiCAB), organised by HSBI’s Bielefeld School of Business, focused on the impact of these developments on business and society. Around 60 participants, among them academics, company representatives and students, gathered for the conference to discuss current perspectives from academia and practice on the impact of Artificial Intelligence under the theme “Disrupt or Be Disrupted: How Does AI Shape the Future of Business and Politics?” As in the previous years, the conference took place within HSBI’s International Week.
In keynotes, a panel discussion and academic lectures, the participants discussed the latest developments, best practices and future trends in the implementation of AI in companies – including the impact on labour, business models and ethical questions.
AI as a social responsibility
The conference was opened by HSBI PresidentProf. Dr. Ingeborg Schramm-Wölk and the Dean at Bielefeld School ofBusiness, Prof. Dr. Riza Öztürk. Subsequently, two representatives from politics and practice presented their keynotes:
Christian Obrok, Member of the Landtag in North Rhine-Westphalia and representative for the OWL region, used his talk to emphasise that massive investment will be necessary for the early acquisition of digital skills – which should already begin in kindergartens. In his opinion, only increasing media literacy among children will help ensure that they will handle digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence appropriately. In addition, he said that the EU AI Act was an opportunity for an “AI made in Europe” and that AI could be applied in the world of work in a meaningful way. However, he also drew the conclusion that we should dare to make mistakes so that Germany does not risk falling behind: “We have to move forwards or we won’t realise where we are heading.”
AI in practice
Dr. Anke Köhler provided a practical perspective to the conference. As a senior consultant with human digitals GmbH, she works on building the bridges between humans and technology. In her keynote, she highlighted the enormous potential of AI in companies: “AI can be used to sustain knowledge; especially against the background that 30 percent of skilled employees will retire in the next few years.” However, she said that only 25 percent of German companies had already developed a clear approach to using AI. Köhler thus advocates reducing bureaucracy: “The general conditions and corporate culture must be right for data and people to be able to achieve incredible things together.”
AI education starting in kindergartens
The following panel discussion focused on the question howchildren in the kindergartenage can learn how to use AI in a meaningful way early on. Obrok: “It’s important that children learn playfully why it can be reasonable to use AI – balanced with learning how the technology behind it works to build confidence and promote sensitive handling. The same applies to older people.”
Another subject of discussion were the legal regulations making the use of AI harder. Existing, reliable digital processes should thus be used in a more targeted way. For example, digital application processes for the approval of new wind turbines can reduce the processing time from six years to six months.
Awards for the best papers
During the academic part of the conference, professors, researchers and students from HSBI and international universities presented six papers focusing on different AI-related topics. The topics included regulatory aspects, ethical challenges and specific use cases – for example, in consumer behaviour or in the financial sector.
The two best papers were selected by a jury from practice and the audience and the winners received 500 euros each: Business Information Systems students Marina Babic, Sonia Anna Chlopek-Duljevic and Theepika Kunasegaram from HSBI convinced with their paper “AI in Recruiting: A Balancing Act Between Innovation and Ethics.” Students Anyel Marquinez Montaño and Melissa Florez Barrios from Colombia came second with their research project “AI in the Labor Field: Catalyst or Tool for Black Women in Colombia?” The prize was awarded by Johannes Wegner on behalf of Fördergesellschaft Hochschule Bielefeld e.V., an association that supports HSBI and donated the prize money.
Prof. Dr. Eika Auschner, professor at Bielefeld School of Business and moderator of the BiCAB Conference: “The conference has clearly shown that there is a lot of uncertainty internationally about how to deal with AI. At the same time, this provides huge potential. The ability to make humans and machines interact in a meaningful way will be decisive in the question which companies will remain future-proof. The biggest challenges here are not of technological, but of human nature.” (nk/abo)
