Jay Tuck Keynote Speaker

Executive News Director, ARD Tagesthemen (1990–2004)
TEDx talk on AI & warfare – 5M+ views worldwide
Author of global best-seller “High-Tech Espionage”

Enquire Add to shortlist

Jay Tuck's Biography

New York-born journalist Jay Tuck began his career at the US Department of the Treasury and CBS News in New York before moving into international broadcasting. Over three decades with Germany’s ARD network, he produced more than 500 investigative segments and, as Executive News Director of Tagesthemen (1990–2004), steered one of Europe’s most trusted news programmes. A seasoned combat correspondent, he has reported from Kuwait, Iraq, Ukraine and the aircraft carrier USS Truman, holding military clearances in eight nations.

Renowned for his mastery of defence, espionage and emerging weapons technologies, Tuck writes for Focus, Le Point, Stern, Welt, Time and Die Zeit, bringing frontline insight to global audiences. His landmark exposé High-Tech Espionage was published in fourteen countries, while Evolution Without Us became a German best-seller and was distributed in 10,000 copies by the German Ministry of Defence. His latest book, AI and Modern Warfare (Econ, 2024), analyses real-time lessons from the Ukraine conflict.

On stage, Tuck translates complex breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, cyber-security and autonomous weaponry into clear strategies for leaders. He speaks regularly at private banks, medical and media forums, law-enforcement agencies, the World Bank and the German Army Officers Academy. His TEDx talk on AI-driven warfare has exceeded five million views, exemplifying his ability to captivate diverse audiences. Away from the newsroom, he is an avid runner—and the first American to complete the Siberian Ice Marathon in Omsk—embodying the endurance he encourages in others.

THE NEW BALANCE OF POWER: AI and Modern Warfare

Drones with swarm intelligence gather for the armed forces strategic intelligence. In the skies over Ukraine, 15,000 special forces units operate surveillance and suicide drones. At sea, submarine drones pose a serious threat to the Russian Navy. In Gaza, fresh high-altitude images are compared with historic pictures to identify tunnel construction sites. Weapon for weapon seasoned battlefield expert Jay Tuck examines how artificial intelligence is shifting the balance of power between east and west.

AI AND HEALTH: Saving Lives by the Millions

Today, a simple doctor’s visit can generate large amounts of Big Data. Artificial intelligence can dig through the masses of information, often uncovering unexpected life-saving correlations. An examination of the retina, for example, can reveal an initial indication of Leprosy. On feet the first signs of impending dementia. But AI is not only helpful with diagnosis. The global outbreak of Covid-19 was first detected by a small data company in Canada – four weeks before the WHO. And today, the pharmaceutical industry would be seriously impaired without the AI review of all new medications.

FACIALS, FORENSICS AND FUGITIVES: Artificial Intelligence in Police Work

From television shows we know that police often use ballistics to identify a murder weapon. They often end up combing the crime scene for hours to find the bullet. This is no longer necessary. With AI micromarks on the shell are sufficient for identification. Facial recognition is also known as a useful tool for identifying suspects. It was used to successfully identify – and arrest - RAF terrorist Daniela Klette. But there are limitations. Klette was identified by a journalist. The software he used is prohibited for the police in Germany. In his dramatic talk Jay Tuck describes blessings and curses of police technologies.

A PINCH OF PESTICIDE: AI on the Farm

With artificial intelligence individual plants in agricultural fields can be treated with pesticides, rather than dumping huge quantities of poison on our foods. LettuceBot, for example, can be attached to a tractor. It examines each plant before treatment – individually! Through the selective spraying of plants that are infected, the quantity of damaging substances needed can be reduced to 1/1.000th. This promises an enormous reduction of the health risks for consumers – and for farm workers. The problem: the sale of pesticide is a billion-dollar business. We can expect resistance from the chemical industry.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE BROKERS GONE? :AI and the Stock Market

Global financial markets these days are automated in a large scale. Artificial intelligence is the better stock broker. Intelligent software can handle the big data from global markets and factor in numerous variables in real time. Only with AI is one capable of monitoring the lightening deals of modern markets in microseconds. And the software is constantly learning.

WHAT COMES AFTER AI? : The Prospects for Quantum Computing

As an expert on artificial intelligence, Jay Tuck is often questioned about the consequences of quantum computing. Living in one of the world’s leading competence centers on the subject, he is familiar with the players. Just as the pioneers of the First Quantum Revolution had no idea that their break-through technology would set the stage for transistors and lasers, the pioneers of the Second Quantum Revolution can only guess what future applications their discoveries will bring. It is still in its early stages. In my talk, I will explore the implications of this. One thing is certain: quantum computing will go hand-in-hand with cutting-edge artificial intelligence. And disrupt it. Through its speed and precision, quantum computing promises major advances in secure IT architecture, metrology, sensing devices, materials engineering and drug development.

FIGHTING FAKE NEWS: How to Recognize it? How to fight it?

As Executive News Director at ARD-Tagesthemen he was responsible for detecting and avoiding fake news. He knows how to recognize. He also know the internal regulatory policies at the US news network CNN and the Arabic Broadcaster Al-Jazeera. His strategies are surprising. And very effective.