Webinar: Generative AI and the Twin Transformation

Panel Generative AI and the Twin Transformation: Fair Expectations, Responsible Use, and Impact

Virtual Panel

Generative AI is spreading rapidly – but can it enable sustainable transformation without creating new forms of dependency, rebound effects, and diffusion of responsibility?

This French-German panel brings together experts from academia and industry to discuss realistic expectations, responsible AI use, and the role of AI in the twin transformation – the intersection of digital and ecological transformation. The event will take place online on Thursday 4 June from 9am to 10am.

Generative AI has achieved mass adoption in record time. According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, about a third of the people in the EU used generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools in 2025, mostly for personal purposes. At the same time, the expected productivity gains have not always materialized in organizational contexts. The Economist relates the stagnating adoption in organizations to the observation that AI may reduce productivity, at least in the short term, due to rewiring IT systems and workflows. Then there is the ‘mediocrity trap’: people can produce something “good enough”, reducing the productivity of workers who decide to work less hard.

In the context of the Twin Transformation, there is also another layer to consider about AI-use. This transformation is a mutually reinforcing process in which the use of digital technologies enables sustainability goals, while sustainability principles strategically shape and steer digital transformation to enhance overall organizational performance (Christmann et al., 2024). Generative AI may help to leverage machine learning to improve data analysis, decision making, and automation to optimize supply chains, streamline carbon accounting in ESG reporting, and increase overall transparency. At the same time, AI raises substantial questions – about potential rebound effects as well as governance issues due to the diffusion of responsibility and ethical responsibility.

How can AI become an enabler of sustainable digital transformation?

Programme: 

• Framing – Personal takes on AI in sustainability transitions
• Moderated discussion – Opportunities & use cases
• Critical reflection – Risks, trade-offs, and governance
• Q&A & key takeawayThis 60-minute virtual panel aims to critically and constructively explore how AI can contribute to sustainable digital transformation, rather than just efficiency gains at best and the diffusion of responsibility at worst. This event is a closing panel for the Master-in-Management-level course “Digital and Ecological Transformations,” offered across campuses in Nancy, Paris, and Berlin.

At the same time, we want to open the meeting to everyone interested in the topic – participation is free and no prior technical knowledge is required.