Dorothea Baur | SpeakerHub

Personal Details

Bio

I am an expert with almost two decades of experience in ethics applied to business. I started out with a PhD on business ethics and subsequently worked as a lecturer and researcher at leading European business schools. About 7 years ago I founded my own consulting company. I am now working independently as a consultant, speaker, and lecturer on ethics, responsibility and sustainability with a specific focus on tech and finance. I have been repeatedly recognized as an influential voice on all matters related to AI ethics.

I have an excellent track record of speaking in front of different audiences (from corporate boards, to shareholders, employees but also students and the wider public) and stand out with my thought-provoking, authentic way of presenting. In 2021, my TedX speech on “AI – freedom within, freedom without” was released. I am also a popular guest on interviews, podcasts and web shows across the world. I have an impressive portfolio of public appearances and enjoy an ever-increasing interest in my opinion.

The red thread through all my work is ethics. I am passionate about applying ethics to all kinds of business contexts, particularly but not exclusively, in tech and finance. People often feel uncomfortable talking about ethics. My mission is to enter a company, a classroom, or a stage, and take away that unease. Feedback from the audience suggest that I succeed in doing this.

Current position (2)

Consultant, Lecturer, Speaker

Baur Consulting AG

Fellow

For Humanity

Degrees (3)

PhD

University of St. Gallen

2004 to 2009

BA Business administration

University of Zurich

1995 to 1997

MA International Affairs

University of St. Gallen

1998 to 2000

Presentations

Presentations (5)

AI - freedom within, freedom without

TedX speech: All eyes are set on the potential AI holds for monitoring and fighting crises like the COVID-19 pandemic; it epitomizes how AI has become the most promising liberation that frees us from having to resolve complex problems ourselves. Because AI can detect patterns that we cannot see, we are prone to delegate our decisions to AI. But how can we be free when we delegate key decisions? Even more so, when we delegate them to algorithms that are effectively black boxes? We used to say ‘The ways of the Lord are inscrutable’, but the ways of the algorithms are equally inscrutable. If we want to keep our freedom, we need to remain in charge. Tech is our servant. We are the masters."

Artificial Intelligence with Common Sense

Speech in front of industry leaders, on behalf of an investment promotion agency: "Artificial intelligence with common sense. The title is irritating. Or at least it should irritate. Because either we are talking about artificial intelligence or we are talking about human intelligence, aren't we? Artificial intelligence with human understanding is therefore a contradiction in terms, and also not desirable. After all, the very purpose of AI is to overcome human understanding."

Inclusion through technology - does the future know no obstacle?

Speech at CYBATHLON 2020 Global Edition: We live in times of rapid technological progress, which is associated with many hopes but also concerns. The technology we develop is becoming increasingly complex. This increase in complexity is also reflected concretely in technologies designed to make life easier for people with disabilities. But how do we make sure that, given the insane pace, we still take enough time to ask ourselves where we are dealing with 'real progress' and where we might be overshooting the mark in our obsession with progress? And most importantly, how do we ensure that these technologies are developed effectively for the people who need them, and that they get to the people who need them? And how do we ensure that the use of technologies is always the free choice of an individual?

How does the COVID-19 pandemic change privacy? (UNESCO Forum - women's voices)

COVID19 has sparked an intense debate on privacy. It is clear we urgently need to contain the pandemic, and we need to monitor its spread. But there is a danger that the urgency could give a strong push toward the use of surveillance technology. It could justify the use of tools that, under normal circumstances, would not be acceptable. How much should we trust digital monitoring? Can we opt out of it? Should digital surveillance decide who can move around freely, and who is quarantined? We might also wonder: Will the pandemic serve as pretext for using particularly controversial tools? For example, some companies have already started buying thermal, facial recognition cameras, and use it to screen the workers for COVID-19 symptoms. There’s a legitimate worry, when such technology is in use it could rapidly become the new normal. In the end it could be used on a much wider scale, and for much longer than effectively required by the pandemic.

Sustainability: from data to action

(Speech at a digital commerce conference) The sustainability debate is science-based. Fortunately, because facts underscore its urgency. The motto is: "If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it". Measurement is knowledge. But despite great knowledge, we have long done the wrong thing. How do we make the step from measurement to action? In addition to accurate data, we also need principles that apply independently of measurements.
Companies are under massive pressure to provide factual evidence of sustainability. Dealing with the flood of data is a major challenge. This presentation is thought-provoking in an unconventional way, highlighting the opportunities and limitations of a purely data-driven approach to sustainability.

Past talks (1)

AI - freedom within, freedom without

TedX Zurich

Zurich