Professor Markus Gabriel advocates for ethical capitalism at ‘TECH’ international conference in Germany on cutting-edge technology

Professor Gabriel's lecture took place at "TECH," an international conference hosted for the first time this year by the German business newspaper Handelsblatt. The three-day event focused on themes including AI, cybersecurity, and digital innovation. Notable speakers included Joschka Fischer, who served as Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister under Germany's Schröder administration; Maria Ressa, a Filipino journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate; and Audrey Tang, Taiwan's former IT minister who has worked to promote digital democracy. According to organizers, approximately 1,400 people, primarily European business professionals, visited the venue during the event. Representatives from NTT and Yomiuri Shimbun, both board companies of the Institute, also attended the conference on-site.

Professor Gabriel appeared as the main guest on the opening day of the conference, delivering his lecture in a dialogue format with a moderator. Taking a broad view of humanity's journey, Professor Gabriel suggested that we are steadily moving along a path of "moral progress" that incorporates ethics and diversity into social systems. He stated that " I'm truly convinced that human nature is capable of solving every single problem that we're currently facing," cautioning against pessimism.

He argued that ethical capitalism, which integrates ethical thinking into business, represents an effective solution to social issues. Professor Gabriel advocated for the importance of maintaining moral values even in the rapid development of AI, mentioning that he is personally working to put this into practice by taking on the challenge of building ethical AI.

The lecture concluded with a question about "what the relationship between humans and machines should be." When asked for his perspective by the moderator, Professor Gabriel responded, "That is something that I learned from my Japanese friends," mentioning Professor Yasuo Deguchi of Kyoto University, who serves as Co-chairperson of the Institute.

He explained Professor Deguchi's "Fellowship Model," which positions artificial objects including AI and robots as equal partners, as well as the concept of the "WE-turn" – a way of thinking that recognizes our fundamental inability to accomplish anything alone and returns to the perspective that we are always members of a collective "WE."