[Video interview] The promise or illusion of AI? A conversation with Jürgen Schulze

‘It’s easier to fool people than to convince them they’ve been fooled.’ – Mark Twain

With this quote in mind, we sat down with Jürgen Schulze, renowned cybersecurity expert and author of ChatGPT – Das perfekte Versprechen 2 (ChatGPT – The Perfect Promise-Slip 2), to explore the transformative and potentially deceptive power of artificial intelligence, particularly in the form of natural language understanding (NLU) and large language models (LLMs).

This conversation was sparked by a series of insightful discussions and long walks through Berlin during EIC 2025, where Jürgen shared his reflections on AI’s growing role in society, cybersecurity, and the broader human experience.

Jürgen introduces the core message behind ChatGPT – Das perfekte Versprechen 2, and what inspired him to write it: the importance of asking the right questions and confronting the societal challenges created by emerging technologies, regardless of the promises made by sales teams eager to push their products.

He also breaks down key themes that readers, especially those in finance and tech, should be aware of. When asked about how LLMs are impacting the financial sector, Jürgen highlights several changes:

‘Client communication is getting better thanks to chatbots. We can now do quicker risk assessments with unstructured data. In the past, we were limited to database analysis, but now we can assess risk using unstructured sources, and that’s very cool.’

He adds:

‘With the right technology, it’s possible to create tailored, customised, bespoke offerings for clients in a split second, offerings that are validated, checked, double-checked, all without human interaction. That’s a huge shift.’

Jürgen also touches on the impact of AI on user behaviour, cognitive functions, and well-being:

‘In the short term, AI makes us happy, we get instant answers, save time, feel efficient. That’s instant gratification. But scientific evidence shows that this kind of instant reward can contribute to depression. When we stop working for information, when we’re constantly running on adrenaline and endorphins from quick results, it affects our mental health. That’s why data quality and outcome validation are so important.’

As a closing thought, Jürgen shares guidance for professionals, policymakers, and individuals seeking to stay both safe and empowered in a world increasingly shaped by AI:

‘First, we need to understand the risks. And we need to understand our values, whether they’re societal or monetary. We must assess business risk, ensure proper digital rights management, be transparent with regulation, and make sure the entire system is fair.’

To hear more of Jürgen’s insights and reflections, check out the full interview here.

 

About author

Jürgen Schulze began his IT career in 1984 prior to finishing his social work studies, holding international leadership roles in marketing, business development, and strategic sales ever since. From 2001, he focused on information security, while also exploring the intersection of information security and artificial intelligence during the last 15 years. After leaving PwC he authored 'ChatGPT - Das perfekte Versprechen 2'. Jürgen supports the idea of human-centric digital governance.