There’s no technology without humanity – speech by futurist Gerd Leonhard

“Efficiency should never become more important than humanity, because not everything that can be automated should be – and happiness cannot be automated”– said futurist Gerd Leonhard, one of the top influencers in Europe (Wired magazine, 2015) and Future Agency CEO emphasizing the role of the mankind in a digitalized society in his live video speech.

“The future is already here – but most of us haven’t noticed. We are facing exponential technological change and it’s only just the beginning. Humanity will change more in the next 20 years than in the previous 300 years. 50% of our jobs will be automated within the next 10 to 15 years. This could be heaven – or it could be hell; all depends on how we collaborate going forward.”

“Therefore, we should invest at least as much energy in people, in ourselves, as we do in technology. It will make us successful both in terms of personal and economic factors” – he added.

Gerd pointed out how digitalization, one of the key factors, influences the labour market, and also added that human skills such as emotions, emotional intelligence, intuition, imagination and creativity are essential for a deep understanding of technology.