The widespread assumption that digitalization will make the world more predictable is proving to be deceptive. On the contrary: the exponential speed of change is beyond our conventional grasp. The current environment is undergoing such a rapid transformation that yesterday's empirical values can lose their relevance within a very short space of time.
A central question raised by Professor Löffl concerns the shaping of future society: will we passively face the developments of the digital revolution and potentially be forced into a position of the digital proletariat? Or will we seize the opportunity to shape a new paradigm of work and value creation?
It should be emphasized that in this era of unprecedented change, no algorithm will be able to relieve us of essential responsibilities as human labor is increasingly substituted by machine processes.
We should realize that we are currently in the midst of the most significant transformation that Homo sapiens has faced since its sedentary evolution, said Professor Löffl.
The lecture took place as part of the "Talks on Future World Empowerment" format of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering in the Speakers Corner specially set up for this purpose at the Centrum Industrial IT on the Innovation Campus Lemgo. "Our international Master IT students should develop a holistic understanding of science, business and society and be able to take on more social responsibility. The aim is for the students, as future engineers and computer scientists, to actively work on solutions for the major issues facing our world and humanity," says initiator Jürgen Jasperneite, Professor at the TH-OWL and Director of the Fraunhofer Institute in Lemgo.