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18th Future Congress: Agenda and Program


Below you can find the program of the 18th Future Congress of the 2b AHEAD ThinkTank from June 4 and 5, 2019 at Wolfsburg Castle.


Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Starting at 7:00 a.m. | Welcome lounge

FOR RED-EYE FLYERS AND EARLY BIRDS

 

Coffee and croissants

The early risers of the day can meet in the welcome lounge before the opening of the congress. Feel free to come directly to Wolfsburg Castle from the airport or train station! We will be here to welcome you with coffee and croissants.

9:30 – 10:45 a.m. | Tomorrowing your business

THE INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP 2029

In the coming years, intelligence will become the most important driver of economic and social development. Mostly artificial intelligence. It is changing our everyday lives ever more rapidly. The error gap between the linear prediction of the future of human intelligence and the exponential reality of artificial intelligence is widening all the time. But the business models of 2029 will undoubtedly determine those actors who are driving the dynamics of the rapid increase in intelligence and who also have so much power that others will have to follow them.

Host and futurologist Sven Gábor Jánszky welcomes the congress participants and presents the technology roadmaps up to 2029 in the opening panel. Strategy and technology executives from major key industries will debate what technology roadmaps they are pursuing and how we need to adapt our companies' business models over the next ten years.

Speaker:

Glenn Gonzalez CTO SAP Germany

Prof. Joseph Wang University of California

Stefan Jenzowsky Managing Director 2b AHEAD Ventures

 

10:45 – 11:30 a.m. | Business Speed Dating

In business speed dating, congress participants get to know each other in relaxed but compact conversations over coffee. In 30 minutes, you will get to know 30 interesting people, including potential customers and business partners. This short and intense conversation format will give you an overview of the congress participants that are of interest to you.

For optimal matching, weeks before the congress, the 2b AHEAD organizing team will speak with every participant. Based on the answers given concerning current questions, projects, and expertise, we will arrange the most promising constellations for business speed dating. Use these introductions as a foundation for deepening conversations later during the congress. Don‘t forget to bring plenty of business cards!

 

11:30 – 12:00 p.m. | Opening Keynote

BIG PICTURE 2029

In the opening panel you were shown the roadmaps into the year 2029 by the technology leaders of various key industries. But how does this technology change people's lives and companies' business models? The opening keynote paints a picture of our life in 2029 and explains how people's life and companies' business models will change within the food industry.

 

Speaker:

Peter Kruger Managing Director of Startupbootcamp Italy and CEO of eZecute

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch, conversations, Lounge

Take an hour for conversations with your new contacts from business speed dating and other conversation partners over a buffet lunch. Venture a look inside our FutureLounge, where you can test the future technologies that are ready for presentation so far - with your own hands! If you have booked a VIP ticket, your Personal Networking Assistant will now ensure that you can converse with the five contacts that you requested to meet.

We wish you fruitful conversations and, of course, Bon appétit!

In parallel 12:15 – 12:45 p.m. | Press conference: The highlights of the 18th  2b AHEAD Future Congress

1:00 – 2:00 p.m. | Tomorrowing your sales

RETAIL & SALES 2029

It was the players at the customer interface who were the first to experience the digital change: The established retailers and salespeople, who felt as directly as hardly anyone else the unstoppable consistency with which digital commerce is pushing between manufacturer and customer and conquering consumer confidence with the intelligence of technology. One might think that retail and sales were the first to learn the digital intelligence lesson. Surprisingly, however, in many companies it is still the sales departments that are the biggest slowers of digitalization. Unproven beliefs about the sexyness of haptics, face-to-face trust and the analog advantage of complex products continue to make the rounds.

This panel clears up the popular excuses of sales. It describes the development of a 10x more intelligent trade by 2029. What does the "economy of bots" look like when intelligent, digital assistants make the purchase ... on both sides of the table? As the owner of intelligent assistants, does the customer have more or less sovereignty? What do the customer segments of the intelligence era look like?

 

Speaker:

Martin Wild CINO MediaMarktSaturn

Norbert Hillinger 2b AHEAD Head of Foresight

 

  

2:00 – 2:45 p.m. | VisionTalk

THINK BIG!

Has our mental horizon really arrived in 2029? Or are we still discussing the little things of the next three years? At the latest, these VisionTalks will actually bring your thinking ten years ahead. After this talk you will doubt your prejudices. Here visions are not frowned upon, but desired! Scientists, inventors and founders will show you in concise talks how they want to change the world. Spinner or visionary - decide for yourself. Let yourself be taken on a journey of the impossible. Shift your horizon: Think big!

 

Speaker:

Dr. Matthias Christen CEO Gigabases

Racheli Vizman Co Founder and CEO SavorEat

Dr. Ali Ertürk Neuroscientist LMU Munich

 

2:45 – 3:15 p.m. | Keynote

THE RE-DEFINITION OF INTELLIGENCE … and how it changes the world

Let's be honest: Humanity is not even intelligent enough to understand what intelligence actually is. And the augurs are already rumbling that we will soon be replaced as the most intelligent species in the world? Understandably, the majority of homo sapiens are tempted to reinterpret artificial intelligence: It is a second-class intelligence because, despite its cognitive excellence, it lacks social and emotional intelligence. But what if these attempts at intellectual rescue fail? What if human intelligence creates a new kind of intelligence that is superhuman? What would it look like? What can and can't it do? And who is currently building it?

This keynote outlines the development of intelligence up to 2029 and beyond. What is intelligence? And what will the world look like when there is more of it? It will question your beliefs about your own me.

 

Speaker:

Toby Walsh UNSW Sydney AI Researcher

 

3:15 – 4:00 p.m. | Break, Coffee, FutureLounge

One thing definitely belongs to the Future Congress: the XXL breaks! These give participants more time for conversation and making new contacts. If you have booked a VIP ticket, your Personal Networking Assistant will ensure that you get to meet your top five contact requests for personal conversation. If you would like to relax for a bit, take a look inside the Lounge!


4:00 – 4:30 p.m. | Elevator Pitch

ENTREPRENEURSHIP – THE BUSINESS MODELS OF THE FUTURE

Five hand-picked founders of successful organizations will present their business ideas competitively at the elevator pitch. Each has exactly two minutes to convince the audience of the merits of his or her business model. An expert jury will rate the pitches. The winner will then be honored with the 2b AHEAD Future Award that evening. Additionally, congress participants and venture capitalists will be given the opportunity to meet with the presenters. We are very proud to present the 2b AHEAD Venture StartUps within the elevator pitch.

 

4:30 – 5:00 p.m. | Keynote

A COSMOS OF HUMANS – The Next Geographical Step

Aliya Prokofyeva, the fascination of outer space was born in the cradle. Her mother ran the Pulkov Observatory and her aunt worked at the Institute of Applied Astronomy of the USSR, studying black holes, quasars and "dwarfs", explaining the rules of the universe to her. Her desire to study space and our cosmic abilities grew exponentially.

Today, her international platform Galaktika, which brings together people from all over the world to realize the dream of living in space, is already in operation and is actively evolving. The development of their space city on Earth is almost complete. This will become a solid basis for scientific innovations. There, life in a space city can be experienced without leaving Earth.

This keynote shows the next geographical footprint of humanity in space. Join us on our journey!

  

Speaker:

Aliya Prokofyeva Founder GALAKTIKA

 

5:00 – 6:00 p.m. | Tomorrowing your leadership

LEADERSHIP & SKILLS 2029

There is no doubt that there is the greatest momentum at the point where the two strongest trends of our time meet. This is where the pressure for change is greatest. All participants of the Future Congress know exactly this place from their everyday professional life. These are the leadership competencies. Because exactly with the guidance of teams and coworkers, the intersection runs between the trend of the digitization to intelligent assistants and the trend of the full employment, with its radical change of supply and demand, in the job market. On the one hand, the results are human digital teams with all the rational KPI-driven logics of cooperation, leadership strategies and competencies. And on the other hand, the search for meaning by human employees in a world of full employment. "Purpose" becomes more important than money. At the same time, management strategies 2029 must already take into account the fact that the personal development of employees will not take place in the same company for the rest of their lives. The targeted attraction and repulsion of employees then ensures that the probability of being able to win the employee back for a project of their own in two to three years increases.

This panel discusses the future of leadership and HR in 2029 and asks itself what a 10x more intelligent leadership strategy will look like and what competencies will 10x more intelligent leaders have in the human digital teams of the future?

 

Speaker:

Holger Knöpke Head of Digital Agenda at Deutsche Bahn

Daniel Jeffries Science Fiction Author, Futurist, Systems Architect, and Thinker

 

6:00 p.m. | End of the first congress day


8:00 p.m. | Awards evening

Each year on the evening of the first day of the Future Congress, the pioneering innovators in attendance at the conference will meet together with businesspeople, politicians, and other prominent personalities for our annual awards evening. In a relaxed atmosphere, the Innovation Award 2019 will be presented to the recipient with the most outstanding innovative project of the past year, and the Future Award 2019 will be given for the best business model from the elevator pitch. Join us when your favorite is recognized, and use this opportunity to deepen earlier conversations and make new contacts!


Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Starting at 8:00 a.m. | Welcome lounge

Coffee and croissants

Early risers meet in the co-working lounge to have breakfast, plan joint projects, conference with colleagues in Asia or answer the most important e-mails in their inbox before the start.

9:00 – 9:45 a.m. | VisionTalk

THINK BIGGER!

The second day of the congress begins with this year's big visions. Scientists, inventors, and founders of successful organizations will explain how they want to change the world in a series of short talks. They will again challenge your preconceptions of the doable and the possible. Once more, you will find yourself shaking your head - or getting swept up in the excitement! The second 2b AHEAD VisionTalk session is sure to broaden your horizons as well.

 

Speaker:

Sven Lindig CEO LINDIG Fördertechnik GmbH

Shimrit Tzur-David CTO & Co-Founder Secret Double Octopus

Jie Lin Vice President TMRW ASIA

Dr. Sebastian Weidt Co-Founder Universal Quatum

 

9:45 – 10:00 a.m. | Break, coffee, Lounge


Let the big visions sit down first! Get a coffee and a croissant. Make an appointment with other participants for a conversation over lunch. And then it's on to the philosophy keynote!


10:00 – 10:30 a.m. | Keynote

WHAT WILL BE HUMAN IN 2029?


It is probably the most frequently asked question to a futurologist at the moment: What happens when people give up control to machines and are externally controlled? The biggest challenge is the fear of losing importance and control. But what happens if you consciously surrender to the loss of control? How does it feel to leave one's own life to foreign decision-makers?

Philosophy has the word in this keynote. Philosophy has the word in this keynote. It is dedicated to the big questions of human development until 2029.

 

Speaker:

Mike Merrill Publicly Traded Person

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. | Tomorrowing your City – exclusive Panel

 

CITY, STATE AND ANDMINISTRATION 2029

 

Among the strategists of technology companies, the state and cities are regarded as ideal areas of application for artificial intelligence and blockchain. They expect the public sector to be a lucrative business. And it would actually be a small miracle if the public sector were to avoid the widespread use of AI and blockchain technology in the next ten years. Why should it? It promises speed, cost reduction and a high level of user confidence ... all the things that citizens miss in their administrations today.

This panel describes in concrete terms what mayors and decision-makers in the public sector can do today to use the most promising future technologies for their administrations as well. The result is not only a picture of the future for 2029, but also a recommendation of those pilot projects and strategic initiatives with which committed decision-makers can gradually make their administrations fit for the future.

 

Speaker:

Dennis Weilmann Head of economy, digital and culture at the city of Wolfsburg

Peter Kern Senior Project Manager Wolfsburg of SIGNA Group

Volker Römmeler Head of Smart:City Volkswagen AG #WolfsburgDigital

 

Use the lunch break not only to feed your body, but your mind as well! Enjoy conversations with new contacts and potential customers directly at our lavish buffet! Talk about the craziest ideas of the day or discuss concrete applications for your business model. If you have booked a VIP ticket, the organisation team will now ensure that you can get to know your five contact wishes in person.

Again we wish you successful conversations and: Bon appétit!


12:30 – 13:30 p.m. | Tomorrowing your processes

SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS 2029

In hardly any other industry do the three future technologies artificially intelligent cars, quantum computers and blockchain meet with such force as in logistics and supply chains. This is the reason why we futurologists pay particular attention to forecasting the future of this industry. Because where great technological changes are in sight, there are great opportunities for the innovative and great risks for the timid. It has long been no secret that autonomous cars will fundamentally change the business models of mobility; presumably more so in logistics than in passenger transport. The forecast of almost free driving autonomous fleets based on demand forecasts from quantum computers is only topped by the forecast of free driving autonomous fleets on the Blockchain. So to speak the UBER of Trucks, only without a central authority like UBER.

This "Quantum Machine Learning on the Blockchain" we will of course encounter in 2029 not only on roads and rails. Almost all processes in companies are supported by intelligent, digital assistants. In many cases, these bots act independently: They coordinate with each other, negotiate with each other and carry out transactions. By 2029, large parts of today's day-to-day processes in our companies will probably become part of the bot economy.

This panel uses concrete examples to discuss the real impact this will have on strategies and business models in supply chains and logistics. What are the efficiency potentials of Blockchain & Co? What new services and business models are emerging for the logistics industry? How are the demands on leadership and competencies changing? How is the role of employees changing?

 

Speaker:

Gadi Ruschin CEO Wave

Jan Berger CEO 2b AHEAD Think Tank

 

1:30 - 2:00 p.m. | Keynote

THE ULTIMATE GOAL: HOW DOES THE HUMAN BECOME MORE HUMAN?

Obviously, the new data and algorithms lead us into an era of ubiquitous optimization. Everything that can be measured can be predicted! Everything that can be predicted can be optimized! ... this is what our future studies say. The "Prediction of Everything" will optimize our life in all places: Better health, longer life, better spouse, better partnership, better job, better processes, better buying decisions, better products ... and if we have optimized everything, then we will notice that ethics and morals of the people still originate from the 19th century. That's how it could happen.

Or the future could be different: Why shouldn't human morals and ethics be just as optimisable as our health? And are we not already in the middle of it? According to a Swedish study, the ADHD drug Ritalin reduces the violence of convicted criminals by 30 percent. Nasal sprays containing oxytocin bind men more strongly to their partners and can prevent infidelity. And researchers already know those special gene forms that people have who divorce more frequently. In times of CRISPR, a small reprogramming syringe could work wonders. And while we are on the subject of gene alterations: Couldn't we also breed people who are better able to cope with problems such as social injustice and climate change? Let's be honest: Would you let the "MORAL ENHANCEMENT VACCINATION" go with you if you had a better moral afterwards? Yes? No? Maybe? But at least politicians should do it, right? And maybe teachers, too? Generals? And your bosses?

This keynote addresses the question of ethics and morality for the next ten years, which you probably have never heard before. It asks: If problems from climate change to religious fanaticism are due to the moral limitations of man, why shouldn't we raise them? What would a society with ten times higher morals look like? And: Would people with better feelings, better ethics and higher morals perhaps even be more human than we are?

 

Speaker:

Prof. Kevin Warwick Coventry University Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the IET

 

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. | Break, coffee, Lounge


If you haven’t been to the Lounge yet – it‘s about time! If you have booked a VIP ticket, your Personal Network Assistant will now put you in touch with a few more exciting personalities.

15:00 – 16:00 p.m. | Tomorrowing your body

HEALTHCARE & FOOD 2029

We expect the greatest changes over the next ten years to come to the healthcare and food industries. Or rather, as these two industries grow together through data-driven business models. There are four fields of technology that will be developed to maturity and mass application in the coming years: 1. The complete analysis of the individual genome, which will be so cost-effective as early as 2018 that health insurance companies will cover the costs. 2. the removal or exchange of dangerous DNA fragments in one's own genome. 3. the production of spare parts organs by 3D printing from own cells. 4. medical food.

Medical Food leads to the fact that almost no “lifestyle illnesses" occurs anymore, since the intelligent health assistant always evaluates the real-time data of the body. It warns in advance if a person threatens to become ill and recommends the right medical food individually and situatively to prevent this disease. But what does this mean for the social acceptance of diseases? Will diseases no longer be unfortunate strokes of fate if they are recognizably caused by the personal misconduct of the individual? Will people be considered antisocial if they burden their family, colleagues and environment with their illness despite better knowledge?

We also always answer these questions for you, the striving of humans for the optimization of health, beauty and strength of their bodies will reach a new level by permanent real time data from the body. What do we eat in 2029? How will the healthcare industry work in ten years' time? And what are the 10x more intelligent business models that will shape the industry in 2029?

 

Speaker:

Anjan Contractor CEO and Co-founder of BeeHex

Yipeng Sun European Director Infervision

 

4:00 – 4:30 p.m. | Keynote

WHAT WILL BE THE FUTURE IN THE FUTURE?

For two days, in our discussions and conversations, we drew up a picture of the future for 2029. We saw technologies, discussed new business models, and made sure that the vision of the future was humane and worth living. And yet our horizons were limited. We focused on those ten years to come, which are quite easy to forecast, because you can already see the driving technologists and talk to the responsible actors.

There will also be a future in 2029! What will then be considered the future? Which futures lie beyond the horizon we are discussing? What does life in Germany look like in the years 2050, 2080 and 2100? As the largest future research institute in Europe, the 2b AHEAD ThinkTank has dedicated itself to these questions. In a long-term study that has been running since 2016, we use scientific methods to forecast the future of ten children born in 2015. How will they live? Will artificial intelligences soon replace their teachers, colleagues, politicians and managers? Will they still have to work 100 years from now? Will robots be their love partners, best friends or parents? And how will Germany, Europe and the world change ... not only in 2029, but until the year 2115, when most of these children will experience and celebrate their 100th birthday?

Dr. Florina Speth is the head of this most ambitious long-term project of German futurology. In her closing keynote, she confronts us with those prognoses for the future that we have not dared to think of in the past two days. It gives us a picture of the future of life and work in Germany for the next 100 years, for which we are better preparing our children.

 

Speaker:

Dr. Florina Speth Futurist

 

4:30 – 4:45 p.m. | Farewell


At the conclusion of our congress, host Sven Gábor Jánszky will summarize the most exciting revelations from our discussions and conclude this year’s congress.

4:45 p.m. | End of the 18th Future Congress

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