21st European Trend Day
12 March 2025
Highway to Heaven? How AI Transforms Society and Work
ChatGPT currently supports us with routine tasks. But what about tomorrow? Can we outsource all of our work to digital doppelgangers and perhaps do without them altogether?
Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly and making profound changes to the ways in which we live and work. What does this mean for the future of work? And how can we prepare for it? Will we soon be living in a "world without work"? How can we create new sources of purpose in a post-work society? How can AI promote collaboration, facilitate access to knowledge and reduce social inequality? And how do we deal with the ecological challenges of AI-driven growth?
If machines take over routine tasks, creativity and critical thinking will become the decisive factors for success. Could AI revive the myth of the lone genius and create one-person unicorns? At the same time, if AI levels the playing field in terms of knowledge and skills, will experts become relics of a bygone era? And what new requirements will arise for education and training if technology not only supports, but also increasingly shapes them?
These and other questions will be at the heart of the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute's 21st European Trend Day. Using case studies and interdisciplinary research, we will shed light on the far-reaching changes and draw up scenarios for the future. The conference will offer impulses for decision-makers in the worlds of marketing, trade, industry, administration, education and employers' organisations, and is aimed at everyone who thinks about the future of work..
The European Trend Day will be held in German and English (with simultaneous translation).
Hashtag: #trendday2025
Speakers
The list of speakers will be updated continuously.
Douglas Rushkoff
Professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics
City University of New York
USA
Website
Recognised by MIT as one of the ‘ten most influential intellectuals in the world’, Douglas Rushkoff researches human autonomy in the digital age. He is also a documentary filmmaker and research associate at the Institute for the Future. As a bestselling author, he has published works such as ‘Survival of the Richest’ and ‘Team Human’ and regularly writes columns for media such as CNN. He has received several awards for his work.
As a
leading expert on the future of work and the role of technology, Carl Benedikt
Frey regularly publishes in renowned specialist journals. In his award-winning
book ‘The Technology Trap’, he sheds light on the impact of technological
change on politics, business and society. He has advised international
organisations, think tanks, governments and companies, including the G20, OECD,
European Commission, United Nations and Fortune 500 companies.
.
Daniel Susskind researches the effects of economic growth and new technologies such as artificial intelligence on labour and society. As a bestselling author, he has published books such as ‘Growth: A Reckoning’ (2024), in which he analyses the tension between the opportunities and costs of economic growth, as well as ‘A World Without Work’ and ‘The Future of the Professions’. He previously worked as a policy adviser and analyst in the British government.
Learn more
Manu Kapur
Professor for Learning Sciences and Higher Education, ETH;
Director of the Singapore-ETH Center
Switzerland
Website
Manu Kapur is the Director of the Singapore-ETH Center and Professor of Learning Sciences and Higher Education at ETH Zurich, where he also leads The Future Learning Initiative. Renowned for developing the Productive Failure theory, Manu has revolutionized STEM education worldwide. With a background in engineering and expertise in mathematical cognition, he has secured substantial research funding, influenced national education policies, and delivered keynote addresses at prestigious global forums.
Holly Herndon is an artist known for integrating machine learning, music, and technology. She develops tools for digital identity and voice ownership, viewing technical systems as artworks. Based in Berlin with her partner Mathew Dryhurst, she co-founded Spawning, which builds AI tools for artists, and won the 2022 Ars Electronica STARTS prize for the Holly+ project. Herndon, on Art Review’s Power 100 list since 2021, holds a Ph.D. in Computer Music from Stanford and shares her studio’s research on the Interdependence podcast.
Max Lederer is the Chief Innovation Officer at Jung von Matt. In this role, he drives the digital transformation of the agency group, which was one of the first in Germany to train its own generative AI . He has over 20 years of experience in digital advertising, platforms, and services, and specializes in working with technology, luxury, and automotive brands.
In spring 2024, together with Tomy Lorsch, Maya Ben Dror founded ComplexChaos, a company building AI tools that power multi-stakeholder collaboration. This could simplify processes for large investments projects as well as for coordination in supply chains. Prior to that, Maya has been working on the future of energy and mobility for 15 years, including for the US-China Clean Tech Center, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the World Economic Forum, where she was most recently Head of Automotive and New Mobility.
Dr. Jakub Samochowiec is a senior researcher at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute. He explores societal and technological developments and their interplay. He is particularly interested in the stories we tell about the future and the underlying views of humanity and power dynamics.
Moderator
The versatile and popular presenter Tama Vakeesan is known to audiences from various Swiss television and radio programmes. She currently presents the health programme ‘Puls’. Previously, she was present with her YouTube channel ‘Tama Gotcha!’, for which she was honoured with the prestigious European media award Civis in 2018. She began her television career in 2014 on the youth channel Joiz.
Programme
The programme will be updated continuously.
08.30
Welcome Coffee
09.00
Welcome
Lukas Jetzler, CEO, Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
Tama Vakeesan, Moderator
Keynote
Daniel Susskind, Research Professor in Economics, King’s College London
Keynote
Carl Benedikt Frey, Professor of AI & Work, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
Productivity Shift: The Next Nature of Work and of Labor Markets
AI technology will disrupt the global job markets. But it’s up to humanity whether this disruption will damage the social fabric, or contribute to a new foundation of prosperity.
10.30
Break
11.00
Jakub Samochowiec, Senior Researcher, Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
Working With AI or For AI?
What skills are needed to fully harness the potential of AI? This is not only a question of competencies but also of preserving the freedom to work creatively—freedom that is increasingly threatened by the use of AI as a tool for workplace control.
Manu Kapur, Professor for Learning Sciences and Higher Education, ETH and Director of the Singapore-ETH Center
Non-Machine Learning: The Future of Education
With AI transforming the workforce, education must also find a Next Normal. How can teachers and trainers, mentors and professors equip individuals with the critical skills needed for tomorrow’s challenge?
Speaker TBC
12.30
Lunch
14.00
Keynote
Douglas Rushkoff, Professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics, City University of New York
Ambiguous Intelligence: Let’s Amplify Humanity, not Replace it
As AI becomes more powerful, we have the chance to use it as a tool that increases human potential and enhances our lives rather than overshadowing the values that define us.
Speaker TBC
Maya Ben Dror, Co-founder and COO, ComplexChaos
Taming the Chaos: AI’s Role in Navigating Complex Collaborations
In a world of diverse interests, effective decision-making requires navigating complexity and fostering cooperation. Technology is becoming the better fit to get it done.
15.30
Break
16.00
Max Lederer, Chief Innovation Officer, Jung von Matt
Keynote
Holly Herndon, Composer, musician and sound artist
Creative Collaboration: AI Songbook and the Public Domain
As AI transforms the creative landscape, it paves new ways to approach creativity and gives us new opportunities for artistic expression and collaboration.
17.00
Networking Apéro
Information
Date
12 March 2025
Venue
GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
Langhaldenstrasse 21
8803 Rüschlikon, Schweiz
Languages
German and English, with simultaneous interpretation.
Programme changes
The programme is subject to change. Should an event not take place, the participation fee will be refunded. Further claims are ruled out.
Cancellation
If you are unable to attend, please cancel your registration in writing. The participation fee will be refunded up to thirty days before the event. After that and up to five full working days before the event, we will charge 75%, and for cancellations after that we will charge the full amount. A substitute participant is always welcome.
Hotel reservations
To benefit from special rates at our partner hotels, please mention the code ETD2025 when booking your room.
Hotel Sedartis, Thalwil: info@sedartis.ch
Hotel Belvoir, Rüschlikon: info@hotel-belvoir.ch
Hotel Alex Lake Zürich, Thalwil: reservations@alexlakezurich.com
Arrival
From Zurich airport
A taxi will take you to the GDI and the partner hotels in around 45 minutes at around CHF 100, depending on traffic. The S-Bahn will take you quickly and conveniently to Zurich and Thalwil station.
From Thalwil station
A free shuttle bus is available for transfers between Thalwil train station / Hotel Sedartis and the GDI. It waits on the lake side of the station. A member of staff will welcome you on the spot.
Thalwil station – GDI: 08.00 – 08.45, every 15 minutes
GDI – Thalwil station: 17.00 – 18.45, every 15 minutes
The Hotel Belvoir is within walking distance of the GDI.
Parking
The parking deck is located a five-minute walk from the GDI at Zürcherstrasse 4, 8803 Rüschlikon. You can obtain a free exit ticket at the GDI.
Please note that images and video recordings will be made during the event, which may be published permanently on the Internet after the event. By participating in the event, you agree to this procedure.
Media partner
About the European Trend Day
The European Trend Day is a conference on digitalisation and society. With a changing focus topic, technological innovations and their impact on the economy and society are discussed. The speakers explore new possibilities of what is still unthinkable and unimaginable today. Participants include managers, entrepreneurs, academics and journalists from quality media.
Participants
Executives
Speakers
Impressions
Image gallery 20th European Trend Day
Past events
Location
GDI Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute
8803 Rüschlikon
Switzerland