The AI with Purpose Summit is Europe’s premier leadership event for industrial AI. In 2025, more than 850 industry leaders attended the event in Munich. More than 200 of them contributed in 111 talks, panels and other sessions. Hosted by Siemens once a year, the AI with Purpose Summit fosters critical engagement and collaboration to unlock AI’s true potential in the industrial world. Leading industry executives, experts, entrepreneurs, analysts and media representatives are exclusively invited for unparalleled exchange and networking. Innovative session formats demonstrate how AI, domain know-how and data are transforming critical systems – advancing productivity, sustainability, and societal progress.

In this Siemens Xcelerator Industry Thought Leader interview, futurist Gerd Leonhard explores the accelerating tension between technological progress and human values, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence, industrial innovation, and leadership responsibility. Leonhard argues that AI should be understood first and foremost as a tool for augmentation, not replacement. While automation has a role, he cautions that its impact is often overstated. The real opportunity lies in using AI to enhance human capabilities—through cognition, augmentation, and virtualization—rather than pursuing a narrow cost-cutting agenda that removes people from the system entirely. Efforts to replace human judgment, creativity, and empathy, he warns, lead to brittle organizations and soulless outcomes.

In an exclusive interview for the Siemens Xcelerator Community, David Erhard and Bill Johnston speak with Gerd Leonhard, futurist and CEO of The Futures Agency, to discuss why industrial leaders are overemphasizing automation when AI's greater value lies in human augmentation, and why "embrace technology, but don't become technology" should guide every implementation decision.

Improving accessibility in manufacturing requires a holistic approach that blends inclusive design, assistive technologies, strong leadership support, and a positive workplace culture. Key barriers include physical inaccessibility, stigma, and policy gaps. Effective strategies—such as universal design, ergonomic and AI-assisted tools, participatory design with disabled employees, and targeted training—enable more inclusive workplaces. When done well, these measures enhance employee experience, boost performance, and strengthen overall organizational success.

An open invitation to Xcelerator Community members to join us for a town hall meeting.

From digitally accelerated turbine development to the structural shifts needed to close hydrogen’s cost gap, this year has shown decisive movement in how clean hydrogen is designed, deployed, and scaled. There has been, and continues to be, a deeper rethinking of infrastructure, policy, and industrial value chains.

In an exclusive interview for the Siemens Xcelerator Community, David Erhard and Bill Johnston speak with Dale Dougherty, founder of Make Magazine and Maker Faire, to discuss how the maker movement represents a prototyping revolution for professional engineering and why companies should tap into what their engineers build on weekends to unlock unexpected innovation.