HFA Day 2024 | Personal Review

This year, the cross-industry Human Friendly Automation (HFA for short) Day took place on September 30th and October 1st. The event was hosted by RWE AG in Essen under the patronage of Katja van Doren , Executive Board Member for Human Resources and IT at RWE. An event that makes history!

Photo: RWE AG 2024

The HFA Day has four main tasks to fulfil:

1. Symbolic power : Opinion leaders in business, the public sector, science, politics and society make it clear: "We want to shape the era of AI and digital automation to preserve good, i.e. value-creating and dignified work for people." The guests act as role models. The "host" of the event in particular plays a special role in this. The clear, public commitment is honored by the HFA Alliance by presenting the HFA Award on HFA Day.

   
   

2. Knowledge transfer : The participants are mostly in leading, creative roles. They are CIOs, CHROs, CEOs, CDOs and heads of operational and strategic AI and automation units as well as from science, further education and politics, who shape research and regulatory policy for generative AI and the associated automation. They all share knowledge with each other. Working together and learning from each other is an essential feature of the HFA Day .

   
   

3. Networking: The aim is for as many participants as possible to network with each other in the long term . Some are striving for research and project collaborations, others want to consolidate the new personal contacts between experts and decision-makers and fill sounding boards or new appointments for supervisory board and CxO roles with "HFA-minded" personalities. And others still just want to get to know people who are convinced that humanity and economic efficiency are not mutually exclusive.

   
   

4. Distribution: Another important task is distribution or "viralization". The HFA Alliance wants to use HFA Day to find as many new "believers" as possible who will carry the spirit of HFA into their organizations or countries. In particular, the HFA Values Charter should be used in as many AI / automation strategies and projects as possible.

Without further ado: HFA Day 2024 was a complete success. Participants spoke of a very "high-quality event". Many said afterwards that they had "really learned something" and wanted to use the knowledge in their everyday activities.

I was very pleased with the positive response, including on LinkedIn. Since February of this year, we have been involved in the preparation of the HFA Day at RWE alongside our jobs. We would also like to thank the host's organizing team, who had never organized such a cross-industry event in this form before - especially on a topic that - at first glance - is far removed from the energy industry. The effort was worth it!

Impressions of the two days

At the request of many guests of previous HFA Days, this year for the first time more time was given to delve deeper into Human Friendly Automation (HFA). The HFA Alliance has therefore organized a pre-workshop in the Unperfekthaus Essen (a perfect place ;) on the afternoon of September 30th.

Photo: RWE AG 2024

26 guests from business, science and the public sector had already gathered before the official HFA Day and developed success criteria for employers based on the specific needs of employees and managers in AI and automation projects. The small groups, represented by the experts from the HFA Alliance Dr. Hans-Joachim Gergs , Thila Pham and Lilli Baur , presented their results to the guests of the HFA Day on October 1st. The Human Friendly AI Framework was used, which was developed by the ISF Munich in the BMAS-funded research project humAInWorkLab and presented by the ISF scientist and HFA Alliance expert Barbara Langes . It became clear that there are "blind spots" in all fields.

AI and automation are turning organizations' operating models upside down

The networking of experts provided by the HFA Alliance is to be deepened in order to close these "gaps". It became clear that the focus so far has been on technology and the application of technology, but organizational development under AI has hardly been an issue worldwide. In my role as global HFA lead at IBM, which plays a leading role in AI, I am particularly pleased that we can deepen and share knowledge together.

Photo: RWE AG 2024

The evening event - becoming part of the HFA community

"Do we need a pre-evening event?" is a question I keep getting when I start planning HFA Day. My answer: "Yes, of course. We can't do without it." Because human-friendly automation is not just a tool or process, but above all it is an attitude towards how to manage projects, areas or companies in the age of AI and automation. The attitude is people-centered.

Many guests rush to the HFA Day from the stress of everyday life. Their thinking and language are shaped by business performance and their roles. We experience KPI thinking. At the start of HFA Days, we often experience artificial behavior that shows traits of arrogance and vanity, which creep in particularly through hierarchies in large companies. We experience silence and caution towards others, which result from politicized organizational cultures. These behavioral patterns are particularly noticeable in the communications before the HFA Day.

The pre-evening event is an informal opportunity to meet people, designed to create an icebreaker effect. So far, we have experienced that the "positive vibes" and the higher meaning of the entire event create a different, people-centered atmosphere as soon as you enter the HFA Day pre-evening reception. This evening leads to an "unmasking" that creates the basis for the main event. This year, RWE chose the Zollverein mine for the pre-evening event. Over 80 guests gathered in the Erich Brost Pavilion on the 38th floor to get to know each other at a "Ruhrpott dinner." As expected, the chemistry between the participants was right and the ice broke after a very short time.

The patron of the HFA Day 2024, Katja van Doren, opened the evening and expressed her relevance for the Human Friendly Automation Initiative as well as her joy at the visit of the guests who had traveled to Essen from all regions of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Photo: RWE AG 2024

During dinner, the fireside chat for HFA Day took place. Under the title: " Artificial intelligence, automation and the future of work. What impulses are now decisive for Germany as a business location ?" Katja van Doren, Andrea Nahles (Chairman of the Federal Employment Agency), Thomas Kufen (Mayor of the City of Essen) and Simone Kasik (Managing Director of the FUNKE Media Group) discussed the topic. In the course of the questions I asked the group, it became clear that AI is indispensable in their everyday lives. However, all speakers made it clear that people must be the focus of all this progress. An approach of "people out, robots in" would simply not be feasible with them, nor would it be sustainable. If you expect quality, you need people.

Ms Nahles, who was connected from Berlin, also pointed out that the need for digitalization in her (public) sector was a conditio sine qua non in order to even be able to talk about the "how", i.e. human-friendly or human-unfriendly.

The fireside chat stimulated conversations between the guests and set the mood for the following day.

Photo: RWE AG 2024

The Human Friendly Automation Day

Photo: RWE AG 2024

At 9:00 a.m. on October 1st, the moderator of the day, Franziska Schiering, Team Lead IT Programs at RWE, opened the HFA Day 2024 and welcomed the guests on site and via livestream. Franziska started with an activation so that we could go through the following program items wide awake.

At the start of the day, Katja van Doren gave an inspiring keynote speech. She underlined the relevance of human-friendly automation for RWE and welcomed the guests who had traveled from Germany, Austria and Switzerland or joined virtually. Katja underlined the relevance of values and value-based leadership in times of AI.

Photo: RWE AG 2024

This was followed by a welcome address from me in my role as initiator of the HFA Alliance and of HFA. Using examples, I made it clear what the HFA Alliance's goal is: maintaining good work for people in times of AI and automation.

RWE receives the HFA Award 2024 - Place to preserve good work in the automation era

Then came the award ceremony. This year, on behalf of the HFA Alliance, I was able to present the Human Friendly Automation Award to RWE, represented by Katja van Doren. RWE is therefore an excellent place to maintain dignified and valuable work in the AI era. This award is based on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal number 8 , the right to dignified and valuable work.

Photo: RWE AG 2024

Panel discussion: How do you actually improve work through digital automation?

The subsequent panel discussion was another highlight of the morning. Moderated by HFA Alliance member Barbara Langes, Ilse Henne , member of the Board of Management of thyssenkrupp AG and CEO of thyssenkrupp Materials Services; Stefan Latuski , CIO at the Federal Employment Agency; Professor Dr. Verena Nitsch , Head of the Institute of Industrial Engineering at RWTH Aachen University; Dr. Anne Bendzulla , RWE Head of IT/OT Strategy, Michael Schönstein , Head of General Digital Policy in the Federal Chancellery and Rosmarie Steininger , CEO of Chemistree discussed the topic of “Improving work through digital automation. What does that actually mean and what is important?

Ilse Henne made it clear that trust in AI decisions must be created among employees. Building trust is essential. BA CIO Stefan Latuski pointed out the challenge that 40% of employees at the Federal Employment Agency will be going into well-deserved retirement in the coming years. Intelligent automation is needed to reduce the effects of demographic change. However, it is important to reduce reservations and let employees help develop AI. Employees are afraid. Even if this is unfounded in his company. Nevertheless, an employee agreement has already helped to reduce fears.

Stefan made it clear that buy-in is needed at the top level . AI labs will never scale if there is no commitment at the top level. In the course of this, he pointed out that communication needs to be improved along the introduction of technologies such as AI and automation:

The why and the communication must be made clearer and implemented more effectively.

Anne Bendzulla also gave a good example in the spirit of HFA. The RWE manager explained that at RWE, AI and automation start with values . They make these the basis. To do this, the company's existing values are reflected together in relation to the requirements of the new technologies. This is a very valuable measure to ensure human-centered automation.

Photo: RWE AG 2024

Verena Nitsch, who is intensively involved in the technical, digital change in ergonomics and is a member of the HFA Alliance, made it clear that Germany is a world leader in placing the AI and automation era on a foundation of values.

Anne Bendzulla also pointed out that cross-functional teams create acceptance for generative AI and automation. This corresponds to the view of HFA expert Martin Födisch, Federal Employment Agency, who already pointed out at previous HFA Days: AI is an overall organizational task and not a pure IT project. Stefan Latuski also emphasized this in his speech. The days when IT developed something in secret and then rolled it out to specialist departments are over.

Rosmarie Steininger explained that the early involvement of the "affected groups" of automation projects is critical to success. The "ability, willingness and permission" must be present. This is achieved when IT and non-IT people work together as early as possible.

Michael Schönstein looked at the topic from a macroeconomic perspective. He underlined the importance of human-friendly automation and the work of the alliance by citing a study by MIT scientist Daron Acemoğlu, " Automation drives income inequality ". This study shows that if automation is not designed to be human-friendly, it can lead to significant wage differences in a society. According to the study, the USA is an example of the associated consequences.

The HFA Alliance wants to make a contribution so that digital automation does not lead to disadvantages for people. Michael's example made it clear that the social peace of a society could be at risk if organizations only want to leverage efficiencies from AI and automation technologies.

Ilse Henne also made it clear that in a time of restructuring, it is all the more important to keep the long-term and people-centered perspective in mind. Her credo in this context is the competence of ambiguity.

We need to get better at managing ambiguity.

This means that you can exploit short-term efficiencies, but at the same time be able to encourage the team to want to shape the future in a constructive, creative and entrepreneurial way. Managing this balancing act, which HFA Allianz expert Hans-Joachim Gergs also repeatedly describes as ambidexterity, in everyday life is a skill that managers need, even under the influence of AI technologies. A corresponding culture must be created. Ilse Henne also showed one way to achieve this. At thyssenkrupp, they are developing " beliefs " that are intended to give managers orientation on AI.

Also worth mentioning was Stefan Latuski's closing statement. He made it clear that Human Friendly Automation should not remain " just lip service ". It is not enough to just talk about it and commit to it. "Doing comes from doing". This means that concrete actions must be taken to implement HFA. The BA is implementing HFA consistently and systematically (see below).

Digitalization at RWE - Impressive examples and HFA

Moderated by Marta Szpindor, HFA Alliance member and Head of Digital & IT Portfolio at RWE Generation, the company presented exciting projects in which AI-supported applications are used for the further training of employees.

In her intro, Marta reported on a qualitative survey that she had conducted among colleagues in advance of the HFA Day: RWE employees would like AI to take over tedious tasks and, above all, to have more time for meaningful work. She made it clear that AI does not work on its own. People will remain irreplaceable.

Nevertheless, employees are also required to change under the influence of digital innovations.

In particular, the VR-based training applications that Rien Trip, IT Innovation Manager (and VR Maniac :)) impressively presented are good options for managing the urgently needed training and continuing education of employees in the AI and automation era in globally operating manufacturing companies. Because, one thing is clear: artificial intelligence will require the largest retraining initiative in the 21st century. This is shown by regular studies such as those by IBM, McKinsey, WEF & Co.

Photo: RWE AG 2024

The RWE impulse concluded with an entertaining " prompting challenge" between Rien and Dr. Max Schumm, Digital Transformation & Innovation Expert. Moderated by Murat Köse, AI Lead & Digital Expert at RWE, among others.

However, one cannot deny that cultural differences in approach became apparent: While Max approached the tasks in a method-based manner, Rien followed a (supposedly "Dutch") trial and error principle, which, with a good deal of self-confidence, often has the potential to be more successful. Unfortunately not in this case: algorithms are not impressed by this.

Photo: RWE AG 2024

And so Max, with a rule-oriented competence (which is more commonly attributed to the Germans), achieved better results in generating AI-based images around HFA. Either way: sticking with it and learning prompts is worth it. And Rien was at least the winner of hearts. ;)

Leadership and AI: How technology affects employees and what do managers need to be able to do

After the lunch break (with excellent food thanks to RWE), there was a lecture on AI and leadership by Prof. Dr. Alexander Maedche from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). In this lecture, he used research work to show how collaboration with AI systems creates changes in cognitive load. Conclusion: Work must be reorganized. Experiences from aviation in particular provide guidance.

Photo: RWE AG 2024

Alexander's very high-quality presentation formed the basis for a high-profile panel discussion on "AI and Leadership" which was innovatively and profoundly moderated by HFA Alliance member and leadership expert Thila Pham , CEO of Growpany:

Norbert Janzen , CHRO of the FUNKE Media Group, explained that they have guidelines on AI. It is important to preserve human intelligence, although they support employees in their everyday lives with generative AI.

In the end, it is the human being who determines quality.

Photo: RWE AG 2024

Madeleine Bauer-Eder , Head of Human Resources at IBM Austria, emphasized in her statement the relationship between AI implementation and employee training: "Creating a learning culture is particularly important." People have to change fundamentally due to the influence of AI and automation. This is also shown by the current study by IBM together with Oracle.

AI has also become indispensable at Porsche. Human Resources Director Andreas Haffner showed that AI is used in everything from sales to catering and helps to increase efficiency.

With regard to the topic of AI and leadership, he explained,

Many managers have difficulty with AI.

There is concern about the devaluation of work.

Madeleine Bauer-Eder noted that it is important to create trust by having employees experiment together with their managers. She cited a specific example from IBM. The IT company organized an AI hackathon that took place simultaneously around the world and in which almost all employees took part. In this way, AI could be experienced, trust built and the desire to integrate it into everyday life was created.

The HFA Alliance brings together many forward-thinking people. They all have a certain amount of "future knowledge". They are therefore convinced that AI and automation mean a significant structural change in the economy. Andreas Haffner also underlined this position. He made it clear that around 25 percent of jobs at Porsche will change "dramatically". And around 85 percent will have to be significantly retrained due to the influence of the technologies.

Not everyone will be happy.

Managers are required to shape this transformation and explain the change to those affected. But not everyone will be happy, said Andreas Haffner. Managers are trained in the organization to conduct these discussions. Openness and honesty are essential.

In the HFA book, IBM HR expert John Lester has already pointed out the need for openness and honesty when work is transferred from humans to machines. In these cases, the HFA Alliance ensures that affected employees are informed of the profound personal change as early as possible so that they have enough time to prepare for another, new job.

Finally, Thila Pham asked the group what a manager would actually need in the future to be allowed to stay. The answers from the HR leaders who took part in the discussion were unanimous:

Emotional intelligence is the key competence of the future

We are currently seeing that managers in many companies are receiving AI and prompting courses. However, the key competence of managers lies less in prompting than in social and emotional intelligence. Norbert Janzen explained that managers must be given the opportunity to continue their training. For example, they must be able to give employees recognition for change . Madeleine Bauer-Eder summed it up with the sentence: "I believe in you".

In addition, managers need a certain level of resilience in order to personally represent the change. This requires communication measures so that managers can understand the company strategy and benefits of AI and explain them convincingly.

Madeleine Bauer-Eder added that middle management in particular must be able to act as "change managers". To do this, they should also show themselves to be "vulnerable" because they themselves are affected by the change.

In addition to the skills mentioned here, AI and acceptance expert Alexander Maedche added that cross-functional, collaborative thinking and action are also key skills through AI. Work within teams is also changing considerably. Managers have to think through the impact and recognize who is being relieved and burdened and what is important to the team in terms of maintaining social interaction. Maintaining employee discussions is particularly important to managers.

Conclusion: The decision-makers' results are consistent with the research results that Daniel Ludewig (Airbus and HFA Alliance member) developed and completed in spring 2024 as part of his research on AI and leadership skills under the supervision of Professor Dr. Christian Opitz (Zeppelin University) (both also guests at HFA Day 2024) and myself. Daniel developed the world's first study in this field, which we at IBM were able to use to develop a leadership competency model for AI and automation that we apply to customers.

Implementing Human Friendly Automation: A Practical Example

After these highlights, the day was still not over. The Federal Employment Agency (BA) has over 100,000 employees in Germany. In its role, it serves as a role model for the organization of work. The HFA Alliance is therefore particularly pleased that the BA, under the leadership of Andrea Nahles and CIO Stefan Latuski, have decided to shape the era of digital automation by consistently applying human-friendly automation. In this way, they want to improve the work of employees and counteract the consequences of demographic change as quickly as possible.

The BA's operational managers for HFA, Uwe Henkel (Head of the Automation Center of Excellence), Martin Födisch (founding member of the HFA Alliance and co-developer of the HFA Values Charter and Head of Change Management at the BA, and Lilli Baur, external HFA consultant for IBM at the BA), clearly demonstrated how this works.

Photo: RWE AG 2024

The BA is scaling HFA by choosing a participatory process. Fields of action were identified in the context of internal expert interviews in order to be able to anchor HFA sustainably both culturally and organizationally as well as in the respective AI and automation projects. As many interested parties as possible from all parts of the republic and organizational units of the BA are working along these fields of action to design human-friendly automation. Uwe Henkel is keeping things together, although he has now unleashed a movement of "conviction activists".

The BA's approach to HFA is worth experiencing. The organization's experts are happy to be available for discussion. By the way: It is unique in this form worldwide. Until now, technology projects - regardless of whether they are in the private or public sector - have been pursued largely without considering the individual impact of technology. As part of the BA project, metrics are being developed for the first time that prove the success of human-friendly automation versus a purely efficiency-oriented approach (human-unfriendly).

 

The HFA Day 2024: A big thank you to everyone who was there

Admittedly, it took a few days to write this blog post. Too many impressions had to sink in to be able to formulate a review. But at the end of the HFA Day, in the farewell and thank you speech that I was able to give together with Anne Bendzulla, it became clear to me: Our work is more important than ever!

I was personally touched that Katja van Doren had the courage, representing an internationally operating company that is subject to shareholder interests, to express a clear commitment to a human-friendly oriented design of the AI and automation era through her role as host of the HFA Day 2024.

I was also personally touched that so many influential personalities and experts from business, science, media, the public sector and politics participated in and helped shape HFA Day both on site and virtually.

Artificial intelligence and its benefits are "cool". I already explained that in my intro to the HFA Day at the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex. But when it comes to the design of work, it is not a topic that we can leave to chance. It is an active management task! The study cited by Michael Schönstein in particular is convincing: Because it clearly shows that those who only look out for themselves and want to increase efficiency potential through AI and automation will not only create significant salary differences in society, but will also contribute to increasing social tensions that have the potential to lead to armed conflict.

I am grateful that the HFA Alliance and the HFA "followers" are growing in number. In the coming years, we will continue to work to ensure that the necessary adjustments are made to ensure dignified and valuable work for people in the AI and automation era.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION AND CONTRIBUTION!

Photo: RWE AG 2024