SPEAKERS
Finn Blug
Online Editor, ada
Finn joined ada in 2021 as an intern and creates editorial content for the digital magazine, the newsletter and the Fellowship. He also manages ada’s social media channels. While studying media and cultural sciences in Düsseldorf and Paris, he became increasingly involved with the new narrative forms of digital media. Aside from his studies, he also gained experience helping to organize the film festival in Düsseldorf and working in the online editorial department of the TV show Neo Magazin Royale. He is particularly interested in the cultural implications of the digital transformation.
Dr. Oliver Blume
Chairman of the Board of Management, Volkswagen AG
Blume was born June 6, 1968 in Brunswick. He holds a PhD in mechanical engineering and has been with the Volkswagen Group since 1994.
After graduating from high school, Blume began his studies at TU Braunschweig in 1988, and was awarded a degree in mechanical engineering in 1994. He completed his PhD thesis to receive the title of Doctor of Engineering in Vehicle Engineering from the Institute of Vehicle Technology at Tongji University, Shanghai, in 2001.
Blume already started his professional career in 1994, joining the international trainee program at AUDI AG. After roles in body construction planning and logistics, he held various senior management functions until 2006, including Head of Body Construction for the A3, Head of the AUDI AG Pilot Plant, and Head of Planning and the Pilot Series Centre at SEAT S.A. in Barcelona.
Blume moved to Wolfsburg as Head of Production Planning at the Volkswagen brand in 2009. He became the member of the Executive Board for Production and Logistics at Porsche AG in 2013. He was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board of Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG in 2015 and since 2018, he was a Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG. The Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG appointed Oliver Blume as a Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG effective September 1, 2022, combining with his role as the Chairman of the Board of Management of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.
Dr. Joy Buolamwini
Computer Scientist, Poet of Code and Founder, Algorithmic Justice League
Dr. Joy Buolamwini is a computer scientist and poet of code who uses art and research to illuminate the social implications of artificial intelligence. She founded the Algorithmic Justice League in 2016 to create a world with more equitable and accountable technology. Her TED Featured Talk on algorithmic bias has over 1.5 million views. Her MIT thesis methodology uncovered large skin type and gender bias in AI services from companies like Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon. In 2020, these companies stepped back from selling facial recognition technology to law enforcement. In addition to advising elected officials during US congressional hearings, she served on the EU Global Tech Panel to advise world leaders and executives on reducing AI harms. She is the spokesperson for Olay’s #DecodeTheBias campaign appearing in September Vogue and on Good Morning America to raise awareness about the need for algorithmic justice.
Dr. Buolamwini’s journey is depicted in the Emmy-nominated documentary Coded Bias, which sheds light on threats AI poses to civil rights and democracy. She has written op-eds on the impact of AI for publications like TIME Magazine ,New York Times and the Atlantic. Her spoken word visual audit "AI, Ain‘t I A Woman?" which shows AI failures on the faces of iconic women like Serena Williams, Oprah Winfrey, and Michelle Obama, has been part of exhibitions ranging from Ars Electronica to The Cooper Gallery at Harvard Square. A Rhodes Scholar and Fulbright Fellow, Dr. Buolamwini has been named to notable lists including Forbes’ 30 under 30, Ebony 100 Powerlist, Bloomberg50, Time Next 100, Fortune Magazine named her "the conscience of the AI revolution." She is the first Black researcher to grace the cover of Fast Company, appearing in the 2020 “Most Creative People” issue. She holds master’s degrees from Oxford University and MIT; and a bachelor’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Buolamwini was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Knox College and a PhD from MIT in 2022/
Judith Gerlach
Bavarian State Minister for Digital Affairs
Judith Gerlach is Bavaria’s State Minister of Digital Affairs. She has headed the ministry since its foundation in November 2018. As the first digital minister in Germany, Gerlach controls and oversees the expansion of digital services for citizens and businesses. The minister also represents Bavaria vis-à-vis the federal government, for example, through the IT planning council. Gerlach champions a technologically-open digital policy, which secures the interests of every citizen at its core. As the youngest member of the cabinet at only 36, the Minister of State fights for the interests of the younger generation. In 2021, she was included in the "Top 40 under 40" by Germany’s leading business magazine Capital
Prof. Dr. Mrinalini Kochupillai
Guest professor at the Future Lab: Artificial Intelligence for Earth Observation (AI4EO), TUM
Mrinalini (Nalini) Kochupillai is currently a guest professor at the Future Lab: Artificial Intelligence for Earth Observation (AI4EO), Technical University of Munich (TUM), where she leads the ethics working group. She is also an affiliated senior researcher with the Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence, TUM, and a faculty member at the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition.
Prior to joining the Future Lab, Nalini has been a senior research fellow with the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition (2014-2018), and with the Chair for Business Ethics at the Technical University of Munich (2018-2019). She has also been a Program Director (2014-2017) at the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center (MIPLC), and an adjunct faculty at the EU Business School (2013-2014; 2018) and the Franklin Pierce Law Center (FPLC), USA (2007-2008).
She has over 18 years of experience in teaching and research in the field of law and ethics in emerging technologies, intellectual property law, plant variety protection, sustainable innovations, and business ethics. Her work has been published in high-impact peer-reviewed journals and books as well as in widely read magazines and newspapers. The German Ministry of Education and Research recently interviewed her about her work in ethics in emerging technologies, especially AI.
Nalini has served as a research consultant for projects of the International Technology Transfer Institute, FPLC (2008-2009), the University of Leeds (2017-2019), the Japanese Patent Office, and the Intellectual Property Owners Association, USA. Her research for the National Human Rights Commission of India (2001, 2002, 2003) on health and human rights has also contributed to legislative debates in India.
Passionate about promoting mental health and well-being, particularly in University environments, in her free time, Nalini teaches mindfulness, yoga, workplace wellness, and stress management seminars as a volunteer for SKY Campus Germany, the International Association for Human Values, & the UN-accredited International Art of Living Foundation.
Marina Löwe
Director of Learning & Development, ada
Marina Löwe is ada’s Director of Learning & Development. She joins us in our belief that growth rarely happens alone, and shares our passion to inspire the connections that will drive future change. Marina is an experienced change expert with a proven track record in creating personal and business transformations. She accompanies executives and teams in the development of mindful digital high-performance cultures for sustainable business. Marina has been working as an internal and external consultant, facilitator and trainer in international companies ranging from DAX corporations to startups since 2002. She is an industrial and organizational psychologist, multi-certified trainer, mediator, Co-active and Berkeley Executive Coach.
Prof. Dr. Miriam Meckel
Co-founder & CEO, ada
Miriam Meckel is founding publisher and Chief Executive Officer of ada. Since 2005 Miraiam has held a professorship in communication management at the University of St. Gallen, and was editor in chief and publisher of WirtschaftsWoche. She served one legislative period as government spokesperson and State Secretary for Media and International Affairs under the Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, and she also worked as a consultant for the Brunswick Group for many years. During her time as a journalist and scientist she received the Cicero Speakers Prize in the science category, published numerous books, and was accepted engagements as a guest professor at Harvard University, Singapore Management University and the University of Vienna.
Prof. Dr. Julian Nida-Rümelin
Board Member, Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation and Vice President, German Ethics Council
Julian Nida-Rümelin is a philosopher and well-known public intellectual in Europe, he
teaches Philosophy and Political Theory at the University of Munich. He is a member of the
European Academy of Sciences. He served as state minister for culture and media in the
German government.
Presently he is a board member of the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation
and vice president of the German Ethics Council. He taught philosophy in the US (State
University of Minnesota, California Institute of Technology) Italy (Calgiari, Trieste, Torino,
Milano). He was awarded a Honorary Doctorate by the University Trieste, Italy. Since 2001
he is also Honorary Professor at the Humboldt University in Berlin. Since 2022 he has been
the Deputy Chairman of the German Ethics Counsil.
Nida-Rümelin publishes inside and outside academia on topics including economics,
democracy, education, ethics as well as the digitalisation of our society. The German version
of this book received the Bruno Kreisky prize as the best political book of the year 2018.
Nida-Rümelin’s specific and most original account of practical philosophy that combines
pragmatism, rational choice and morality is presented in: A Theory of Practical Reason
(Palgrave Macmillan 2023).
Jan Oliver Schwarz
Professor of Strategic Foresight and Trend Analysis and Head of the Bavarian Foresight-Institute at the Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt
Jan Oliver Schwarz is a Professor of Strategic Foresight and Trend Analysis and Head of the Bavarian Foresight-Institute at the Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt. His research and consulting work focuses on various aspects of corporate foresight, e.g. scenario planning, business wargaming, decision making and science-fiction.
Dr. Lisa Shay
Associate Dean for Educational Innovation, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York
Dr. Lisa A. Shay has been the Associate Dean for Educational Innovation at the Albert Nerken
School of Engineering at The Cooper Union since September 2019. She came to Cooper Union from
the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, where she was Director of the Electrical
Engineering Program, a program that US News & World Report consistently ranks in the top 10
nationwide among institutions where a doctorate is not offered. She had responsibility for 10 military
and civilian faculty who taught 30 electrical engineering courses to over 500 cadets each year.
Dr. Shay retired in 2019 from a 30-year career as a Signal Corps Officer in the United States Army.
During this time, she served in numerous leadership positions while stationed in the United States
and abroad. She retired with the rank of colonel.
Dr. Shay has authored three book chapters, a Michigan State Law Review article, and over 30
articles in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. She pursues interdisciplinary
research among the fields of engineering, education, law, policy, and ethics. Her interests include
developing and using technology to benefit society and humanity across the world and developing
engineers who act with a sense of civic responsibility and social justice.
Dr. Shay holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from the United States Military Academy at West
Point. As a Marshall Scholar she studied at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom and
received the M.S. degree in Engineering from Emmanuel College, Cambridge. She holds a Ph.D. in
electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an M.A. in National Security and
Strategic Studies from the US Naval War College, and an M.A. in Pastoral Studies from Fordham
University. She is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), a
member of the IEEE Committee on Engineering Accreditation Activities, an ABET evaluator for
electrical engineering programs, a member of Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu. She is a licensed
Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Dr. Léa Steinacker
Co-founder & CIO, ada
Léa Steinacker is founder and Chief Innovation Officer of ada. Prior to 2018 she worked for Wirtschaftswoche, most recently as Chief Innovation Officer. In 2018 the american magazine Forbes named her one of the “Top 30 Under 30” managers in Europe’s media landscape, the same year she was one of the “Top 30 Under 30” journalists named by Medium Magazin. Raised in Germany, Australia and Wales, she studied at Princeton, Harvard and the American University in Cairo before writing her doctor’s thesis on the social impact of artificial intelligence systems at the University of St. Gallen
Dr. Kimo Quaintance
Director of Community, ada
Kimo Quaintance is ada’s Director of Community. He first worked with ada as an external consultant in 2019, and joined the team full-time in 2021. He has spent the past 10 years consulting on collective learning and technological change to clients such as Facebook, Microsoft, General Motors, Lufthansa, Siemens, the United States Army, and the Royal Opera House in London. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of St Andrews in Scotland and has developed curriculum and lectured at the University of Denver, the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the University of the German Federal Armed Forces in Munich (Universität der Bundeswehr München), and the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing
Dr. Niina Zuber
Senior Researcher, Bavarian Institute for Digital Transformation
Dr. Niina Zuber is a researcher at the Bavarian Research for Digital Transformation. She focuses on the topics of ethical software design and how to implement ethical thinking in agile processes. She is interested in normative conceptualization of platforms for digital citizen participation. Before joining bidt, she worked for many years at LMU Munich and at the Center for Digitalization Bavaria (ZD.B).