Mit dem Laden des Videos akzeptieren Sie die Datenschutzerklärung von Vimeo.
Mehr erfahren
According to the U.S. market research firm Grand View Research, artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to grow by 37.3 percent annually through 2030, meaning it will increasingly impact daily life in the coming years. In an interview, journalist and bestselling author Ranga Yogeshwar discusses the potential effects of AI’s growing influence on young people, what parents and grandparents should consider, and how AI technologies can help create a better future for the younger generation.
What specific impacts can be expected for the upbringing of future generations, particularly concerning education and social interaction?
This is a challenging question because it’s difficult for all of us to extrapolate what technology does to us. When we realize that the “Generation Emil,” representing all young people born today, will naturally communicate with machines, it becomes evident that something is changing. When I was born, that wasn’t the case. We are witnessing AI leave its mark across various fields, already significantly altering certain processes. For example, in programming, it used to be necessary to memorize the code; today, it’s more of a coworking experience with AI. The way we work is changing.
AI is now also capable of generating language. Language is crucial for every culture because it is the foundation of civilization. The idea of the European Union, the constitution, or a religion—all of these are based on language. “In the beginning was the Word.” In the future, it may even be possible for AI to generate new narratives, and we may not know whether something originates from a human or a machine. This presents new challenges.
Moreover, AI is capable of predicting things in various fields, such as medicine, and extrapolating the future based on data. We cannot yet imagine where this journey will take us. In ten years, AI may be able to predict how long a person will live. In my lectures, I often ask the question: Do we want to know the year of our death?
About Ranga Yogeshwar
Ranga Yogeshwar began his career as a journalist in 1983, initially at various publishing houses, then in radio and television. In 1987, he became an editor at Westdeutscher Rundfunk Cologne and later headed the science department. Ranga Yogeshwar has been working as an independent journalist and author since 2008.
He is one of Germany’s leading science journalists and has developed and presented numerous TV programs, including “Kopfball” (ARD), “Quarks&Co” (WDR) and “Die große Show der Naturwunder” (ARD). Yogeshwar regularly writes articles in leading newspapers and is a welcome expert on numerous talk shows. His books “Sonst noch Fragen?”, “Ach so!” and “Nächste Ausfahrt Zukunft” quickly became bestsellers and have been translated into numerous languages.
Yogeshwar has received over 60 professional awards and has been honored many times, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Wuppertal, the Federal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Ordre de Mérite du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg. Ranga Yogeshwar is the father of 4 children and lives with his family near Cologne.
How can we use AI technologies to shape a better future for younger generations?
I believe that AI itself has no agenda. Many people claim that we can combat climate change with AI. At its core, the responsibility lies with us and our decisions. The important thing is that we have a very powerful tool. We can use it for good, but also for harm. The choice is ours.
AI is based on statistics, on the world of correlations. As the descendants of the Enlightenment, we humans use causality as a foundation. Especially in critical areas, we need to be aware of where AI should be applied, where boundaries should be drawn, and where a machine focused on statistics and correlations cannot provide a solution.
It will be crucial to consider where AI can be better applied and where we need “the human in the loop.” The fundamental issue is that AI is a catalyst that can greatly improve things but can also lead to negative outcomes if the approach is misguided.
What should parents and grandparents consider regarding AI and their children or grandchildren?
We are living in a time of change, a period of significant transformation. What was true for previous generations is no longer valid today. Grandparents are not necessarily the best advisors for the future of their grandchildren because their world is so different. We need to recognize that we are living in this transitional phase and be open to the new. Instead of clinging to the past, we should embrace the opportunities within these new possibilities. This mindset of openness is essential—it’s about change, not preservation.
Why should attendees at the Customer Focus Summit look forward to your presentation?
In times of great change, societies and individuals often feel uncertain. Whatever you touch, you realize—it’s different. Alongside digitization and AI, we also face other significant issues like sustainability, the global impacts of climate change, geopolitical shifts, and the emergence of new power centers. We live in a world undergoing significant transformations, and people often react with fear. But fear is not a good companion. I advocate for openness and for showing where the opportunities lie.
Cover: © Ranga Yogeshwar