WestVisions

THIS WAS THE WV #10

Schedule

18:00

DOORS OPEN

Welcome at the reception

19:10

LARS HOHL

Renting in the city vs. owning property in the countryside – what housing teaches us about digital sovereignty and our digital security

19:35

SASCHA DEVIGNE & JÖRG KACHELMANN

The Last Bullet. Or: How AI Is Saving Local Journalism.

20:00

SASCHA PALLENBERG 潘賞世

Why the internet needs a restart

20:30

NETWORKING

Grab a drink at the bar!

Speaker

SASCHA DEVIGNE & JÖRG KACHELMANN

The Last Bullet. Or: How AI Is Saving Local Journalism.

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Bio

Sascha Devigne is Editor-in-Chief of STUDIO 47, the only private regional television broadcaster in North Rhine-Westphalia. Under his leadership, the proprietary AI production platform "NewsHub" was developed, enabling automated broadcasts and avatars such as the "Kachelmann Avatar."
Devigne is regarded as a pioneer of AI-driven workflows and views regional media as the "base camp of democracy" — one that must be safeguarded through technological innovation.
Jörg Kachelmann is a meteorologist and one of the most well-known weather experts in the German-speaking world. Together with STUDIO 47, he developed an AI-powered digital twin for regional weather forecasts. For him, the focus is on the quality, reliability, and clarity of information — even in an increasingly digital media landscape.

Talk Description

A prominent weather expert. A digital twin. And an uncomfortable question: what happens to local journalism if we don't use AI?
STUDIO 47 presents the "AI Kachelmann" — the first fully automated weather avatar on German television, produced via its proprietary AI platform NewsHub. What might sound like a technical gimmick is, for Editor-in-Chief Sascha Devigne, something far more significant: a survival strategy. Regional broadcasters are struggling with staff shortages, rising production costs, and a lack of new talent.
In this talk, Devigne demonstrates how the Kachelmann Avatar is produced, before joining Jörg Kachelmann live via Zoom on the main stage. Together, they discuss digital twins, journalistic responsibility, and why AI in regional broadcasting may be "the last bullet" to preserve media diversity and a democratic public sphere. Because when regional media disappear, so does the foundation of local debate. Or, as Devigne puts it: "Local journalism is the base camp of democracy."

Sascha Pallenberg 潘賞世

Why the internet needs a restart

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Bio

Sascha Pallenberg (潘賞世) is a German tech blogger and consultant residing in Taipei.

In 2013, he was recognized as one of the “NEXT 100 Top Influencers” of the European digital industry. From 2010 to 2013, he received the “Top 20 Smart Mobile Device Pundit” award four times in a row for being among the most influential bloggers and journalists in the field of mobile computing.

In 2015, he won the “Goldener Blogger” award as Blogger of the Year in Germany, before joining the corporate communications team of Daimler AG as Head of Digital Transformation in February 2017.

Between 2021 and 2023, he served as Chief Awareness Officer at aware_, Germany’s first sustainability platform, supporting companies in their sustainable transformation processes.

Talk Description

A keynote about madness, algorithms & responsibility. What has become of the internet? Click farms, NPC streams, fake engagement, algorithmic manipulation, and a like button that shapes us all. Sascha Pallenberg – tech blogger, Taiwan expat, and digital enlightener – takes us on a journey through 20 years of internet culture in this captivating keynote. From the madness of likes to the bot apocalypse, from Canva AI videos to social-selling factories in Indonesia. And he asks: Do we really want it this way?

Lars Hohl

Renting in the city vs. owning property in the countryside – what housing teaches us about digital sovereignty and our digital security

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Bio

ars Hohl is an Information Security Manager at Deutsche Bahn AG and has been working in the fields of IT security, data protection, and digital governance in international organizations for over 14 years. A hacker at heart and a data protection advocate by conviction, he is shaped by early experiences in open networks, the tech community, the Chaos Computer Club, and hacker ethics.

He is committed to digital sovereignty, social responsibility, and open, decentralized structures, and brings these perspectives together in talks that build bridges between everyday life, organizations, and digital security.

Talk Description

Whether it is a family apartment in the city or a house in the surrounding area, the way we live shapes our sense of freedom, security, and dependency. The very same mechanisms shape our digital world. This talk builds a bridge between these two worlds and uses everyday situations to illustrate the essential ‘management decisions’ we all make in our private lives—decisions that directly affect our security and our lives. This creates a shift in perspective that is particularly relevant in light of increasing geostrategic tensions. It affects us within corporations as well as all of us in our private lives, and raises compelling questions whose answers outline possible solutions that you can also apply for yourselves and your families.

What to expect

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Networking

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