Artificial intelligence: from passenger to enabler?

According to Digital Skills Barometer 2025, Austrians overestimate their own AI skills and perform significantly worse in terms of the AI knowledge actually tested. Does the result correspond to your own experience?

Lukas Görög: Absolutely – that corresponds 1:1 with what I have experienced in over 400 workshops. I call it the “ChatGPT paradox”: many people believe that they are AI-competent because they once reformulated an email with AI. It’s like saying you can drive a car because you’ve sat in the passenger seat once. The reality is: most people use maybe 5% of what AI can do today. They prompt like search engine queries, don’t understand why results vary and have no idea how to strategically integrate AI into work processes. Real expertise only begins where superficial trial and error ends.

What typical mistakes do you currently see managers and employees making when dealing with AI?

Lukas Görög: I see three classic mistakes among managers: Firstly, the “ostrich tactic” – burying your head in the sand and hoping that AI will disappear again. It won’t. Secondly, the opposite extreme can be observed: Blind faith in glossy demos from software providers without understanding what of it is actually relevant for your own company. I have seen managers who have bought six AI tools, none of which were being used after three months. Thirdly, and this is the most common mistake – treating AI as purely an IT issue. AI is a cultural issue, not a technology issue. What I see most among employees is a fear of making mistakes and therefore not experimenting at all. Or they use AI in secret because they believe its use is forbidden or embarrassing. This leads to uncontrolled growth without quality control. This is exactly the opposite of what companies need.

What skills apart from technical expertise are needed to work effectively with AI?

Lukas Görög: To be honest, technical expertise is only a small part. The crucial skills are others, such as critical thinking: AI does not automatically provide the right answers. If you don’t question this, you become a victim of hallucinations and misinformation. Communication skills also count: good prompting is essentially good communication. If you can’t clearly formulate what you want, you won’t get any useful results from AI either. The next aspect is adaptability – what works today may be outdated tomorrow. Those who cling to a tool instead of understanding principles will lose out. And very important: ethical awareness. Not everything that is technically possible should be done. Anyone who uses AI without a moral compass will harm themselves and others in the long term. Ultimately, it is about understanding AI as a tool – and as with any tool, it is the craftsperson, not the tool, who determines the quality of the result.

Why do participants particularly benefit from CIS Certification GmbH’s AI training programme?

Lukas Görög: Because it offers the complete package that is otherwise lacking on the market. Many AI courses are either pure tool training a la “this is how you click through ChatGPT” or theoretical treatises that don’t come across in practice. The CIS training combines both and adds ISO 42001 as a framework on top. This means that participants not only learn how AI works, but also how to introduce it into the company in a legally compliant, ethically justifiable and strategically sensible way. With the EU AI Act, this is no longer a nice-to-have, but a necessity. What makes our course particularly valuable is the combination of theoretical knowledge and practical application. Participants leave the course with concrete use cases and an AI roadmap that they can implement directly in their company.

What advice do you have for IT professionals to make their career “AI-ready” in the long term?

Lukas Görög: Three things: Firstly – stop waiting. Every week that you don’t actively experiment with AI is a week lost. That doesn’t mean you have to become an expert straight away – but it’s important to get started. Secondly – think outside the box. The most exciting developments happen at the interfaces. An IT specialist who understands how marketing, sales or production work will be more valuable than someone who only writes codeThirdly – Invest in systematic training. YouTube tutorials are not enough: you need structured knowledge, dialogue with experts and, above all, practical exercises including feedback. My honest advice: If you think your current skills will be enough for the next ten years, you’re in for an unpleasant surprise. AI will not replace people – but people who use AI will replace those who don’t

Would you like to find out more about the AI Manager course at CIS Certification GmbH? Here you can find all the information and register right away!