It's been over a year since my last blog, and the topic of AI remains highly topical. Not only in the media, but also in my circle of friends and colleagues, there are constantly new developments and applications that are taking AI to a new dimension.

In the meantime, some major players such as OpenAI, Google, Microsoft and Amazon have established themselves. So far we have only heard rumours from Apple, especially after the Vision Pro failed to live up to expectations. It would only be logical for Apple to focus on AI next. Followers of Steve Jobs remain curious.

AI has now become an integral part of my everyday working life. I mainly use AI for:

• Generating texts of different lengths
• Searching for synonyms
• Shortening texts
• Rewording my own texts
• Creating graphics and photo-like images instead of stock photos
• Generation of spoken texts
• Creation of songs or background music for videos

Could I do my job without AI? Of course I could! But if I have the choice between driving a state-of-the-art limousine or an old VW Golf from Düsseldorf to Cologne, I know exactly which choice I'm making. I drive both, but one is more stylish, more fun and looks better. This is exactly how I see my relationship with AI - my contribution is how I formulate the input, i.e. the prompt, in order to achieve the desired result. Without the right input, even the best AI is useless, like a fancy car without a driver.

The market for AI-supported applications has grown enormously in the last year. A look at https://buzzmatic.net/ai-tools-die-ultimative-liste/ shows anyone who wants to experiment with AI a multitude of possibilities and solutions.

Will AI replace us in some jobs? Certainly! But every technological innovation in the last 150 years has made some jobs redundant and created new ones at the same time. Eternal change drives our development as a nation, society and individual. Standing still means going backwards. Of course, AI can and will be used by malicious people to deceive, manipulate, blackmail or divide, but that is no reason to stop development - if that were even possible. It is therefore all the more important to maintain a positive attitude and at the same time develop a high level of awareness for recognising fake and truth.

With AI, we could potentially solve problems that seemed unsolvable just a few years ago, such as clean energy production, saving the climate, producing compostable plastic, curing cancer or free education for all. It is also important to teach young people media literacy so that they can tell the truth from lies. Nowadays you have to be sceptical about all information and check it through different sources before believing it.

In conclusion, I can say that AI, when used responsibly, is a real game changer that significantly increases my productivity. I understand the general fear that we might lose skills through AI, but it's about utilising more efficient options. Why should I memorise 50 phone numbers when I can have them in my phone's memory? Why learn a route when I can use a sat nav? Or learn a new language to communicate better?

Today, AI can not only write texts but also imitate voices. I recently read about a young, seriously ill man who taught an AI his voice with the help of 100 spoken sentences. After his death, his wife can continue to speak to him and retain some of his presence. Is that perverse or pathological? I think it is up to the person concerned to decide whether such an AI solution is satisfactory for them - even in the face of a great emotional loss.