We Coded AI. It Decoded Us. Now Let’s Recode Both. | Antonia Assenova | TEDxOTHRegensburg
We built AI to predict the future. Instead, it started revealing secrets we buried centuries ago.
Imagine a mirror that doesn’t show your face, but your blind spots. Not your wrinkles, but the biases you’ve called tradition. Not your smile, but the fears we’ve automated into algorithms. This is AI’s paradox: We built it to optimize the world. Instead, it’s decoding us.
Here’s what keeps me awake: What if AI isn’t the problem? What if it’s just the first truth-telling machine humanity couldn’t silence?
This isn’t a talk about fixing machines. It’s about redesigning what they’ve shown us about ourselves.
• It shows how "progress" often codifies old wounds.
• How "innovation" can automate inequality.
• How "smart" tech might be making us… less human.
But beneath the discomfort lies a radical hope: What if this mirror isn’t here to judge us, but to jolt us awake?
In this talk, we’ll confront the hardest question: Why does this refection hurt? And why, despite its glare, do we keep polishing the mirror… to look away?
You won’t leave with a plan to "fix" tech. But you might leave with something riskier: A lens to see your role in the chaos. A reason to stop fighting the refection… and start rebuilding it.
The future isn’t about coding smarter machines.
It’s about decoding what they’ve forced us to see. Antonia is a visionary leader and founder of OZERIAN, with nearly two decades of experience in digital transformation, process automation, and organizational development. Her deep belief that technology should serve the greater good, fostering inclusion, respect, and community, led her to focus on one of today's most critical topics: Responsible AI.
Driven by a passion for continuous growth and the courage to embrace new challenges, Antonia’s personal journey has taken her far beyond traditional paths. From acting workshops and writing performances to tennis matches that tested her resilience, she has discovered the transformative power of stepping outside her comfort zone. These experiences shaped her belief that true innovation begins where fear ends.
At OZERIAN, she empowers organizations and public institutions to lay the foundation for responsible and sustainable AI practices, ensuring technology becomes a force for good. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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