"There is no more talking hat in our time"

publik: Mr. Espenlaub, you're still a bit young for this, but if you had a child who wanted to study, what would you advise? Which subject? And is it even worth it? There are lists circulating about which jobs will soon fall victim to AI ...

Fritz Espenlaub: I actually have a 16-year-old godson, and I wouldn't advise him against going to university. But I wouldn't recommend any particular subject either. He should follow his inclinations. The important thing is to learn something completely different, whether it's a degree course or professional training, and that is agency.

publik: That is?

Espenlaub: In this day and age, there is no longer a Talking Hat like in Harry Potter; a degree no longer sorts us out for the rest of our lives. The world has become more like a computer game in which there are constantly new tasks to master. Agency means: I learn how to solve problems, how to develop myself, how to acquire new skills. The most important skill is being able to constantly adapt my life plan.

publik: Some lecturers at the university report that a certain number of students don't want to deal with AI at all ...

Espenlaub: Why?

publik: Among other things, because they don't want to unlearn how to acquire knowledge themselves. Do you understand that?

Espenlaub: I don't think that's such a bad argument. We also need to reflect on where it is better to avoid AI in order to continue to master things. Nevertheless, everyone has to learn how to use AI. Otherwise he or she will soon find themselves in the same position as someone who refuses to use their phone or calculator.

publik: Social media is flooded with AI-generated garbage. If you have to touch everything with pointed fingers, which Instagram, Tiktok etc. in particular now serve up: What future do social media have then?

Espenlaub: I don't believe that social media will disappear. 100 years ago, there were already manipulations with images, think of black and white photos with UFOs or elves. That didn't stop photography. In the end, it may even be a good thing if people learn to check content for plausibility again. At the same time, I think that the importance of social media is waning and personal contact is becoming more important again, real encounters. We are once again more interested in what real people we know and trust tell us.

publik: What does that mean for the communications industry?

Espenlaub: The same applies here. There are journalism slams, for example, where editors report on their research and make the results comprehensible. Readers or viewers want to know who wrote the news and whether they can trust him or her. Author names are important, trusted podcast hosts are important.

publik: We are conducting this interview for a magazine that also appears in print format. Is this desire for authenticity also an opportunity for print?

Espenlaub: According to my observations, people are overstimulated and oversaturated by the online world. The rising tide of AI-generated content is certainly making this even more drastic and creating a pendulum swing. I notice in myself that I'm looking for peace and quiet and am reading a lot more books again, in a completely analog way.

"I wouldn't write Europe off"

publik: Will Silicon Valley remain the measure of all things in the development of AI? Or are the Chinese catching up?

Espenlaub: US companies still have a technical lead. But China is pursuing an interesting path, a completely different approach. They are coming up with open source tools that are easy to integrate into other systems and are therefore spreading quickly. And I wouldn't write Europe off either. We have a strong economy and clever minds. There are innovative companies like Mistral or Black Forest Labs here too.

Interview: Kathrin Meckbach and Sebastian Mense