Physical AI, Safety and the Future of Engineers (Prof. Dr.-Ing. Steven Peters) | Espresso Talks #18.

What does the future of AI mean for engineers and how can we make physical AI safe and reliable? In Episode #18 of Espresso Talks by Sphere Energy, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Steven Peters, Professor of Automotive Engineering at TU Darmstadt and former head of an AI lab at Mercedes-Benz, shares his insights on Physical AI, automotive innovation, data-driven engineering, and the future of engineering education. Discover why high-quality data is the foundation of AI, what Europe can learn from China’s speed, how AI will transform the engineer’s role, and why fundamental knowledge in mathematics, physics, and human factors remains essential in the age of ChatGPT. 0:00 Welcome to Espresso Talks with Prof. Steven Peters 0:43 From Mercedes to academia 1:54 Inside the Mercedes AI lab 4:41 How advanced is automotive with AI? 7:04 The underestimated foundation: data 9:20 "China speed": what it really means 15:19 What is physical AI? 18:04 A European pool of open engineering data 21:44 How the engineer's role will change 26:33 Why students still need lectures in the age of ChatGPT