IBA Forum-Gastbeitrag Dr Daniel Dettling, one of the most prominent futurists in the German-speaking world, explores in the September 2026 column for IBA Forum the importance of leadership and communication.
Artificial intelligence (AI) will radically transform our world of work. The outcome is uncertain. AI raises a fundamental question about power: Which future will prevail? And who will lead us safely towards it? In future, leadership will have to be legitimised through cooperation, communication and consensus.
Human leadership will become more valuable
More and more companies are using AI-powered systems. Yet the more AI systems prepare or make decisions, the harder it becomes to determine responsibility. If an algorithm recommends hiring a particular candidate, who actually made the decision?
Sam Altman, founder of OpenAI and one of the people behind ChatGPT, recently gave a thought-provoking interview to DIE ZEIT. He warned that “people use AI to replace interaction and relationships with other people” and expressed the hope “that we learn the lessons from the social media era”. There should be no parasocial relationships with AI. AI is a tool, not a human being. Altman himself says he is on “Team Human”. Human beings and human dignity must remain at the heart of our thinking and actions. Altman is an optimist, but not a naïve one.
More meaningful work through more human work
He is right. Throughout history, automation and new technologies have repeatedly led to progress. The use of machines freed millions of women and men from hard physical labour. They were able to access better education and lead more self-determined, freer lives. The same can be true in the future. Tomorrow’s world of work can offer more meaningful work.
Our task as humans is not to work as efficiently as possible, but to work as humanly as possible. Intuition, social interaction, creativity and emotionality are what make us human. This means that different and new professions and activities will become essential in the future. We should look forward to this and make sure that AI works for us, not against us. Real innovation happens in our minds. AI can neither ‘think’, ‘understand’ nor ‘feel’. Nor can AI know or predict a future that is uncertain and open. The future is a place full of possibilities, and the journey towards it remains open. Let us stay on Team Human. The future does not belong to the machine.
Dr Daniel Dettling is a futurologist and founder of the Institute for Future Policy (www.institut-zukunftspolitik.de). The institute recently published the book “Eine bessere Zukunft ist möglich – Ideen für eine Welt von morgen”.
Cover photo: Dr Daniel Dettling (Photo: Laurence Chaperon)
