In her ESMT Open Lecture, Zehlike emphasizes that “every technical choice is also always a normative choice.” She highlights that the values we ascribe to should be reflected in the technologies we build, noting that the finer details often make a crucial difference. Zehlike advocates for transparency, urging companies to be upfront about the limitations and potential misuse of technologies rather than downplaying them.

Zehlike speaks positively about her role at Zalando. “It’s a different way of working [compared to academia], and the field of ethical AI is younger in industry than it is in academia,” she explains in an interview with the Complexity Science Hub Vienna. Looking ahead, she envisions stronger collaborations between industry and academia, believing that interdisciplinary efforts will enhance the fairness of AI applications. She also hopes for better-informed labor unions, which she provides with ethical guidance on algorithms.