Trend Watch: Berghs Unconference on AI
Is it possible to sense a technological shift moving into a new phase? First comes the hype. Then the panic. After that comes a period when everything is put to the test. We are pushed to take sides: for or against, visionary or skeptic, with little room for nuance. But at this year's first Unconference, it felt as though something had changed. Not the level of interest. Not the energy in the room. But the tone of the conversation.
Less drama. More reflection.
The most interesting takeaway from the day was not that generative AI is capable of more than it was a year ago. We already know that. What stood out was that the questions had become better. More useful. Less preoccupied with novelty and more concerned with purpose. When does generative support genuinely help us, and when does it simply make us a little too comfortable? What is the purpose? Who benefits? What happens to quality, expression and judgement when a quick answer is always available, just one prompt away?
We can achieve a great deal on our own, and even more when we learn to use AI well. But what happens when we hand everything over to the machine? That was where many of the day's conversations began. Because this is not just a story about technology. It is a story about habits. About discipline. About our ability to resist outsourcing everything that makes us unique simply because we have the option to do so.
One theme surfaced again and again. The more that can be automated, the more valuable the things that cannot be replicated become. A human voice. Taste. Direction. Relationships. Responsibility. Intuition. The qualities that are difficult to quantify, yet impossible not to miss when they are absent.
The theme was evident throughout the day, in presentations, workshops and conversations between sessions. AI is no longer simply a tool we are experimenting with. It is becoming embedded in processes, teams and organisations. As a result, questions around culture, learning and leadership took centre stage. And perhaps this is where the generalist returns to the conversation. Not as the opposite of the specialist, but with a distinct expertise of their own: the ability to connect technology, ethics, communication, culture and human behavior within a single perspective.
Then there was the youth panel. Many of us drifted into the session with a degree of skepticism and a generous helping of adult preconceptions. Yet it became one of the day's most insightful contributions.
Not because the panel offered definitive answers, but because, despite or perhaps because of their age, they seemed entirely comfortable with complexity and largely unconcerned by the fact that not every question has a simple answer. Whether the discussion centered on music, gaming, film or autonomous vehicles, they repeatedly arrived at the same conclusion:
It depends.
On the task. On the purpose. On the context. On who ultimately benefits from the solution. Not the most dramatic answer. But a thoughtful one, and entirely in keeping with the phase we now seem to be entering.
Written by: Joakim Thulin, Head of Insight Berghs School of Communication
