Greetings from Stephan Weil, Prime Minister of Lower Saxony and Honorary Patron for the 16th Future Congress

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This year, the Future Congress of the 2b AHEAD ThinkTank once more had an exciting topic in store for you, one that inspires serious discussion: "Think Quantum – The Prediction of Everything" was the theme for the two days of the congress, where 300 guests from business, science, and politics have again gathered at Wolfsburg Castle.

Recent key advances in information technology regarding the identification of patterns and trends within large data pools raise many questions. How will this development change existing business models? What new options can it provide? What will happen when quantum computers – which by now appear technologically feasible – exponentially multiply the analytical power of computer architecture? How will the large-scale transition to Industry 4.0 effect our working environments?

Lower Saxony has identified and embraced the challenges of digitalization as a key responsibility.  From highly automated – or even fully autonomous – vehicles to the interconnection of  varying modes of transport to the more effective and efficient management of logistics chains: We actively promote partnerships, networks, and projects across a wide range of topics. Of particular importance to us here is "Industry 4.0" with all of its various facets, one of which being so-called "predictive maintenance," the prediction of possible malfunctions in a machine and the preventive exchange of components before problems can occur.   

Hannover, March 2017