We’re all Pioneers: Let’s change the world for the better!
Vienna Hofburg — for centuries the European power centre and home of iridescent historical figures such as Emperor Franz and his Sisi, who were pioneers in many respects in the history of Austria and Europe. Since 2012, a whole new type of pioneer has met once a year in this historic building: the European tech and start-up scene at the Pioneers Festival.
On May 24 and 25, 2018, the time had come again: 2,500 bold, groundbreaking entrepreneurs, executives and investors joined forces to look into the future and beyond. Right in the middle of it my colleagues Anja Hendel, Matthias Auf der Mauer and I as well as our Porsche x Pioneers side event, where we brought together different roles and perspectives to discuss topics like autonomous driving, blockchain, AI and rethink our own mobility vision.
I entered the Pioneers conference taking a step through the marvelous archway of the 500-year-old Hofburg in Vienna, curious to get inspiration all around digital topics and new technologies as well as sharing my experiences as a UX designer in the Porsche Digital Lab.
More than technology
At first sight, it was the contrasts that made the event so special to me: impressive architecture, beautifully painted high walls and stuccoed ceilings, surrounded by the unique Vienna spirit met disrupting technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and quantum computing. And then, a few hours into inspiring keynotes and talks, I noticed the festival’s focus on finding new interfaces for human and computer interaction — it felt like we’re taking the next step. We were going beyond discussing the continuous evolution of the technology itself and starting to think more about human centric experiences and the way interaction between humans and machines will change — which of course from a UX design perspective is really interesting.
Tackling the societal challenges of our time
But there is even more to the Pioneers Festival that deeply impressed me, as a person affecting the world around me. Namely, that was the consistent will of the speakers on stage and people in panel discussions to use technologies in a good way — to protect the environment, help the society and create innovations that matter. The will to make the world a better place by applying new technologies. Many talks at the event focused on their applications and possible impacts on all areas of our society and world.
If it’s SALt’s talk on „Lighting Up Rural Island Communities Through Salt Water“, a fireside chat with Austrias Ministry for Digitization on technology and politics, „How A Beetle’s Behind Could Solve The Worlds Water Crisis“ or a philosophical impulse on artificial intelligences making life-or-death decisions — all these inspiring topics were doing something good with technology. But one speaker really stood out for me: It was Lilium talking about their completely electric, vertical take-off jet and how they started from an idea no one believed in to a company that possibly disrupts the way we move from one point to another within the next years.
With so many thoughts, ideas and inspirations in my mind, I would like to share three of my personal key take-aways from the Pioneers Festival 2018 with you:
- Collaboration across organizations.
I realized that we’re on the right way by starting initiatives together with colleagues, startups, politics, universities and anyone who is willing to make a change! It’s the pooling of knowledge, experience, ideas, power and capital that brings us forward. This includes of course the work we are doing in our projects but also our contribution to additional formats like the „Strategiedialog Automobilwirtschaft Baden-Württemberg“, a new dialogue format for opening up innovation potential across industry boundaries. But, of course, there is still a long way to go.
Our “New Work” hackathon together with CODE University and HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management also shows what great results we can get if we team up.
2. Voice first.
Voice control can be the next major disruption in computing. Why’s that? Well, typing is part of our learned routine, but voice is way more intuitive. Besides that, almost everyone is able to use her or his own voice, no matter how old or educated they are.
Therefore, every company should think about the possibilities of voice interaction and applying voice first concepts when developing new products. A great example for new user experiences and as well for using technology for the good are Alzheimer patients using voice interaction: Compared to a human, a technological assistant that’s managed by voice is not annoyed or frustrated, when patients asked him the 20th time for the date. For me, as a UX designer, this means exploring new ways of interaction and shows how important it will be to include conversational thinking as well as voice control.
3. Be a pioneer!
Above all, the festival showed me that we all need to act more like pioneers. This means going forward and pushing your idea even if there are boundaries. It means using your skills outside your subject and comfort zone for new purposes, thinking outside the box, sharing your knowledge and keep on going by helping other people with your own capabilities!
Whenever working together with others — if it’s holding a workshop, during our projects or just brainstorming — I’ll keep in mind that everyone has different desires that motivate them to explore things. So besides developing ideas and products, we should focus on what motivates the team and the customers to help them find their inner explorer and create great outcomes!
A long story short: During these two days, I came together with numerous progressive minds, participating in talks, keynotes and interchanges that broadened my horizon. At Pioneers, human tech frontiers were redefined — which is for me and our work at the Porsche Digital Lab really momentous and precious.
Judith Gabbert works as a User Experience Expert in the Porsche Digital Lab and acts as an interface between the needs of the user, the technological possibilities of the Porsche ideas laboratory and the professional requirements of the Porsche Group.
In her role as User Experience Expert, it is Judith’s job to identify the needs of the users and their expectations for a product or service. Her aim is to work together with the Lab team as well as colleagues from all Porsche departments and future users to develop holistic concepts that meet the challenges of each problem while creating the best possible experience for the user with the aid of new technology. Judith’s work in this area includes managing ideation in the Lab, developing concepts and testing these concepts with users.
