Digitalization - The speed of reaction to technological developments will determine our success.

The working world is undergoing a transformation. Christian Baudis, former Germany chief of Google and digital entrepreneur, describes in an interview with the BAP the influence that digitalization will have on the working world of tomorrow and the challenges associated with it. Mr. Baudis, what are currently the most exciting developments in digitalization that will impact the job market? We are only at the beginning of digitalization and therefore cannot fully imagine what lies ahead. Many people confuse the internet with digitalization and believe that the last ten years, during which Google, Facebook, Amazon, and others have grown significantly, have already changed us immensely. However, the internet is just one part of digitalization. The following three areas will significantly change our work and living environment in the next ten years: Robotics: We are inevitably being thrown into a working world where traditional production or warehouse and logistics jobs are being questioned. The CEO of Deutsche Bahn recently said he could well imagine that in ten years, train drivers could be replaced by robots. A study by PWC sees the 500,000 truck drivers on German long-haul routes at risk, and the Atlas robot by Boston Dynamics can already manage the warehouse almost perfectly in its latest version. In the household sector, the household robot will be the next relevant device after the invention of the iPhone in early 2007. One of them is called Pepper, costs $1,600, and can do much more than we think. Last summer on Aida cruise ships, he successfully took over reception work, conducted customer satisfaction surveys, and brought plenty of good jokes on board. Robotics is advancing and allows for limitless imagination. It's progressing much faster than we believe: When was the last time you stood in a phone booth? For me, it was in 1997. Just ten years later, Apple's iPhone hit the market and was, of course, much more than just a phone. Apply this technological change speed to robotics, and you can vaguely envision how our world will look in 20 years! Human-Machine Connections: Incredible things will happen here. The healthcare market will be rapidly transformed to our advantage. Medical analysis and prevention will be improved by digital devices we wear on our bodies. Google's diabetic lens is connected to your smartphone and measures your blood sugar level in real-time, Sensoria's digital socks measure the quality and stress of your running behavior while jogging in real-time. In five years, we will go to the drugstore and get the digital silicone patch "MC 10," which, when attached to body cells, determines all the body analyses of a current general practitioner's office and plays them in real-time on your smartphone. You will be able to measure your health status in real-time: "Great, today I am at 90% - so very healthy!" or "Oh, I am only 35% healthy. What should I do?". Before you go to the doctor, quickly get a second opinion from the super medical computer Dr. Watson from IBM and know what to do before you meet the doctor. But the real revolution in the healthcare market will unfold in the area of physical disabilities. Many years ago, medical research began to filter the electronic impulse from brain commands/nerve impulses to correct dysfunctions in the nervous system and transmit brain commands through electronic transmission pathways as an alternative to the nervous system. Professor Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the innovative MIT Media Labs, was one of the first digital innovators to research this development 20 years ago. In 2014, one of his professors, Hugh Herr, presented the first relevant human-machine connection of our time in Vancouver. Hugh Herr lost both lower legs during a failed mountain climb 30 years ago. During the presentation in Vancouver, he walked on stage with two robotic leg prostheses. His robot feet "read" the brain commands from the nerve strands ending in the knee by playing the electronic impulses on an intelligent motion chip, which then transmits electromechanical motion commands to the robot feet. Professor Hugh Herr said during his presentation that today he can walk and climb better than he could 30 years ago with his real legs! This innovation is the reason why in the next ten years, we will see people who were wheelchair-bound for life walking. The blind will be able to see again, etc. You just need to bridge the interruption in the nervous system with electronic nerve bridges! Artificial Intelligence/Big Data: In the last ten years, we have digitized the analog world. With every digital device we carry, we measure this every second of our lives. Everything becomes zeros and ones. Never before has humanity had so much data, and allegedly, this data volume doubles every two years. Only a very few companies can currently make use of this data flood. This will change! Amazon already knows when our household will next order dry cat food for our cat and stores the goods appropriately in the nearest regional distribution center. When I order cat food, it now takes less than nine hours for it to be delivered to us. Soon it will be six, three, or even one hour. How does Amazon do this? The logistics are excellent, but data compression and correct interpretation are the keys to success. The combination of data (Big Data) and artificial intelligence can predict tomorrow's consumer desires. For this reason, the German automotive industry believes that in perhaps five to seven years, ordered cars can be delivered a few days later because the desired car has already been pre-produced! What do you see as the greatest socio-political challenges brought about by the digitalization of the working world? The biggest challenge is the speed of change and flexibility that comes with this development. The times of traditional strategy consulting by McKinsey, Boston, and others are over. The speed of reaction to technological developments will determine our success. Politics must learn to understand this development and create the right framework. Digital companies must contribute to societal security through self-commitments, and each of us must engage in digital education. If we do not adapt to this development, many jobs in Germany will be at risk. If we do not prepare children in schools in time for the opportunities and risks of this development, for example through a subject on "Digitalization," we are training a generation of unemployed individuals. We must start reshaping the working world step by step not only in schools but also in the executive suites of companies and parties. Traditional production and logistics jobs, as well as process work, are increasingly being challenged by robotics and artificial intelligence. We have a responsibility to shape this development! Then, it is a huge opportunity for the technology location in Germany. But only then! How will demographic change and digitalization drastically change the working world? What tasks can personnel service providers take on? The personnel service provider of the future may not only find the right qualifications for the corresponding company anymore. Perhaps they will take on the training and further education that will be urgently needed for the digital transformation of our economy in the next ten years. For more information on our top speaker Christian Baudis, click HERE. Further articles on digitalization: - [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalisierung](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalisierung) - [http://www.computerwoche.de/k/digitalisierung,3533](http://www.computerwoche.de/k/digitalisierung,3533) - [https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article157235743/Warum-wir-schon-bald-voellig-anders-arbeiten.html](https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article157235743/Warum-wir-schon-bald-voellig-anders-arbeiten.html)