Mediating the general public’s encounters with media art is a big part of what Ars Electronica does. That’s why the Ars Electronica Center offers an excellent year-‘round program of guided tours that get across the big picture and do it in an understandable way. And once again this year, there’ll be many and varied guided tours through the Festival venue and its many exhibitions to elaborate on the works of art and shed light on the Festival theme.
The WKOÖ [Economic Chamber of the State of Upper Austria] represents the interests of the business community on the state level. The UBIT, its group for business consultants, accountants and IT specialists, is sponsoring the guided tours at this year’s festival. We talked to Chairman Markus Roth to find out why a media art festival is a valuable experience for his group’s members.
Credit: Tom Mesic
WKOÖ UBIT is the patron of this year’s festival tours. What led you to make this commitment?
Markus Roth: Our organization’s mission is to stay on top of the latest trends that impact our members, whose job it is, in turn, to insightfully manage and advise businesses to assure a sustainable future. Our patronage is meant to demonstrate that when it comes to considering the future—what the Ars Electronica Festival staff has been doing so successfully—the business community can confidently address their concerns together with the members of our group.
What do you see as the synergy effect yielded by the partnership of our two organizations?
Markus Roth: Media art opens up new perspectives, and they are especially important for our members. Our assignments usually entail seeing the big picture, going beyond everyday facts & circumstances and identifying the extraordinary developments on our clients’ horizons. Thus, the combination of our skills and the insights of media art are perfect for our members.
Credit: Florian Voggeneder
The Ars Electronica Festival scrutinizes the future of art and technology. How do you see the future of your sector, business consulting?
Markus Roth: We’re currently experiencing growing integration of technology in everyday life, and one of the effects of this is increasing specialization. Nowadays, as a result of the rapid pace of digitization, it’s no longer possible for an enterprise to develop in-house specialists in all essential fields. This is the reason for increasingly calling in outside experts. So, these two megatrends—independent consultants and progressive digitization—are exactly what brings in our members.
This year’s festival theme is “Artificial Intelligence – The Other I.” Does artificial intelligence now play a role at WKOÖ UBIT or will it in the future?
Markus Roth: Our members include many IT firms and consultants that have long been involved in artificial intelligence; for some, it’s the cornerstone of their business model. Thus, we’re confronted on a daily basis with issues related to AI and have a front-row seat on these changes. For companies and consultancies that want to prepare for these new technologies and the opportunities and risks they entail, we recommend visiting www.berater-finder.at to find the right expert to accompany their enterprise’s digital transformation.
Markus Roth is the chairman of the Economic Chamber’s group for business consultants, accountants and IT specialists, as well as CEO of creative BITS, an IT firm. He’s an expert with experience in digital transformation and assisting industrial enterprises in the implementation of business models with excellent future prospects. He and his colleagues provide services to all of the group’s member firms, and work to improve framework conditions in the regional economy.
You make reservations on our website for guided tours at this year’s Ars Electronica Festival, September 7-11, 2017.To learn more about the festival, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram et al., subscribe to our newsletter and visit our website at https://ars.electronica.art/ai/en/.