After three digital years, the „Zukunftskongress Logistik – 41. Dortmunder Gespräche“ was held again on site at the Dortmund Westfalenhallen on September 12 and 13, 2023. The event under the motto “Logistics goes AI – Learning what we don’t understand” addressed the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for logistics and the workforce. For the first time in 2023 and in collaboration with the organizers Fraunhofer IML and Digital Hub Logistics, the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence was an event partner of the congress with 450 participants.
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael ten Hompel, Director of the Lamarr Institute, opened the event. “The future of AI in logistics is triangular, bringing together data, knowledge and context. In doing so, it is increasingly becoming an acting partner to humans. A social networked industry is emerging in which AI not only provides information, but actively controls, negotiates or plans. With AI, we will find new and better solutions to many a complex problem – without being able to understand in detail how the AI learned the solution. We are also heading for a new paradigm of learning and will ‘learn a lot of things we don’t understand’,” Michael ten Hompel emphasized in his presentation.
Zukunftskongress Logistik addresses the potential of AI for logistics and the workforce
The two-day event program, featuring leading experts from business and research, included keynotes, panel discussions, impulse lectures, workshops and other formats as well as the presentation of the “Digital Logistics Award”. The unanimous opinion: Artificial Intelligence will fundamentally change our everyday lives and, above all, the workforce.
Representatives of the Lamarr Institute also provided important impulses. Prof. Dr. Stefan Wrobel, Director of the Lamarr Institute, and Prof. Dr. Eva Schmidt, Principal Investigator and Values Chair at the Lamarr Institute, gave presentations as part of the “AI Plenum” at the Fraunhofer Symposium. In his lecture “Artificial Intelligence – The Future is Now,” Stefan Wrobel presented AI applications that are already being used in companies and in everyday life. He emphasized the great benefits of Artificial Intelligence, especially with regard to generative foundation models, for companies and the reliable value creation through trustworthy AI. Eva Schmidt addressed epistemological and ethical issues of Artificial Intelligence. She focused on problems and potentials of AI.
The “Zukunftskongress Logistik – Dortmunder Gespräche”
The “Zukunftskongress Logistik – Dortmunder Gespräche” has been offering a unique exchange between science and business for more than 40 years. With the expert knowledge of the organizers and partners, the traditional congress offers a view into the future of logistics year after year and brings together the latest developments from society, research and practice.
