Sometimes progress is very expensive: At the beginning of February, the US company Anthropic, one of the leading start-ups in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), presented new functions of its Cowork assistance software. For the first time, they can take on entire task packages more or less independently: for example, programming, monitoring compliance processes, or preparing legal opinions. As a result, around 285 billion US dollars were wiped out on the stock market within one day, as investors sold shares in companies that could loose their customers to Cowork.
Instead of merely assisting people, Cowork aims to replace demanding activities. This is something that worries even the head of Anthropic: Dario Amodei warns that AI applications could make around 50 percent of all entry-level jobs in offices and administration redundant in just a few years.
The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence is one of the developments that Evonik’s Foresight team has analyzed in depth as part of the GameChanger 2035 project. The focus is on disruptive developments and inventions with the potential to fundamentally change economic, military, and social structures. That certainly applies to AI.
Artificial Intelligence as a Minister.
Artificial intelligence is already occupying prestigious jobs today. For example, the Albanian chatbot Diella 1.0 was appointed Minister for Artificial Intelligence at the beginning of 2025. The follow-up version Diella 2.0, which not only understands text but also voice and whose avatar appears in Albanian costume, is more than just a PR stunt. It will gradually assume responsibility for public tenders and ensure that procurement procedures are free from corruption.
However, the fact that the introduction of new technologies sometimes causes friction is shown by the lawsuit filed by actress Anila Bisha, who says she was not asked for permission to use her voice and likeness for Diella.
AI is even finding its way into sensitive areas such as psychology. So far not directly with the patient, but in trials with recorded conversations, the machines have already come up with answers and results that deeply impressed the human therapists—because they were better. Artificial intelligence is also making inroads into the bedroom: ChatGPT is about to introduce an “adult mode.” This should make it possible for adults to have erotic conversations with the chatbot—according to ChatGPT operator Open AI, more and more customers want such a feature.
Labs Without Humans
These examples show that AI applications are a real game changer that is spreading rapidly into all areas of life. AI systems will soon also be used on a large scale in the chemical industry—for example in research, as demonstrated by the A-Lab at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The A stands for “autonomous.” In order to accelerate the synthesis of new materials, an artificial intelligence is used to independently manage an entire laboratory. It devises experiments, carries them out, and analyzes the results—around the clock, without human intervention, and 50 to 100 times faster than humans.
The Foresight Team is evaluating when and for which tasks such systems can increase Evonik’s innovative prowess in the future. Because one thing is certain: AI will also change the rules of the game in research.
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