Algorithms are becoming more widespread in many parts of our lives including the workplace. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven “algorithmic management” presents new opportunities to improve the work environment. But they also bring about new concerns and risks for workers.
In its fifth lecture series on 20 February 2020, ,the Philippine Austrian Cultural and Educational Society (PACES) invited Dr. Richard Mischak, a mathematician, economist and professor at the Wirtschaft University in Vienna to shed light on this issue. Dr. Mischak’s resulting lecture on the theme, My Boss is an Algorithm, was therefore highly informative and timely.
Dr. Mischak is very well qualified to talk on the topic. His technical expertise is in technology, strategy, design and managing start-ups. With over ten years experience in management and higher Education, his specialities are strategy development and marketing for multinationals and small and medium companies in Austria, Switzerland, Eastern and Western Europe and South East Asia.
Lecture participants, composed of students, professionals and members of the Philippine community in Austria, found his lecture totally fascinating.
In her comment, Philippine Ambassador to Austria, Maria Cleofe Natividad, who graced the occasion, said, “Transformative technologies offer new frontiers for human advancement but also challenges. If we are to flourish and prosper in the coming decades, we not only have to join the technological revolution, we have to master it.”
Ambassador Natividad also encouraged PACES to continue with its interesting series of lectures, and invited PACES to hold its lectures at the Philippine Embassy in Vienna. She reiterated her support for PACES in its mission of providing scholarships to university science students in the Philippines, as a key to the nation’s progress.
For its part, PACES, represented by officers Maria Lourdes (Malou) Soto Reininger, (President), Marizel Rojas (VP Internal Affairs), Gina Villanueva-Weinzierl, (VP External Affairs), and Efren Abaya, (Scholarship Committee Chairman), offered its heartfelt thanks to Dr. Mischak, as guest speaker, Ambassador Natividad, as well as members of PACES who helped organize the event.
