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A.I.² is an independent, transdisciplinary research and development partnership between Leo Kees and Dr.-Ing. Simon Weinreich. We see our collaboration as a practice-based laboratory for innovation.

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​WHEN TRANSDISCIPLINARY EXPERIENCE OPENS NEW WORLDS

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What emerges when artistic and scientific expertise meet?

After completing his doctorate at TU Braunschweig on systematically incorporating disruptive innovations into portfolio planning, Simon Weinreich spent several years working in innovation, technology and product strategy at the Volkswagen Group.

After graduating from Folkwang University of the Arts and completing postgraduate studies in cultural management, Leo Kees thought about devising and creative processes for artists at the FUdK,  worked at several German state theatres, and toured his productions in more than 20 countries. 

The two met in 2026 while training as systemic coaches. They decided to bring their different experiences together and jointly explore the human conditions that enable innovative thinking and action.

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WHEN DATA MEETS PEOPLE

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nformation, data and ideas are often available. Yet they do not automatically lead to innovation.

In companies, institutions and creative processes, we repeatedly encounter the gap between knowledge and action. Communication breaks down. Resistance remains invisible. Responsibilities are unclear. Or uncertainty about the unknown leads people back to old habits and familiar paradigms.

Often, knowledge is not what is missing. What is missing is the willingness and the conditions for communication that allow an idea to be embraced, developed and put into practice.

A.I.² explores this gap.

Which communication, cognitive, emotional and social skills enable innovation?

And how can these skills be developed and practised?

How does knowledge become willingness?

How does willingness become change?

How can resistance be made visible and contribute productively to innovation processes?

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HUMAN INTELLIGENCE IN THE AGE OF AI

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Artificial intelligence is not the field we come from. It is the field we are entering together. We approach AI with precise questions and two very different professional perspectives, rather than ready-made answers.

Which human abilities become more important, rather than obsolete, through AI?

How will AI change our working cultures? And how can institutions and small and medium-sized enterprises prepare for this?

We ask how artificial intelligence can expand human imagination and capacity for action without handing judgement and responsibility over to machines.

A humanistic approach to artificial intelligence measures technology by more than efficiency alone. It asks whether technology strengthens human abilities: imagination, judgement, empathy, communication, responsibility, the ability to learn and collaboration.

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A SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO INNOVATION MANAGEMENT IN THE AI ERA

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A.I.² brings different perspectives together in a shared research process:

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CREATIVE THINKING
Makes alternatives imaginable, enables disruptive thinking and supports a productive engagement with the unknown.

SCIENTIFIC RIGOUR
Tests ideas and hypotheses and connects insights with feasibility, organisation and implementation.

SYSTEMIC COACHING
Makes communication, relationships, resistance and unconscious assumptions visible.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Opens up a shared field of research into new ways of thinking, learning and working.

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A.I.² investigates how people and organisations can recognise their own assumptions, routines and mental models. The aim is to create new possibilities for choice, without devaluing experience or resistance.

The courage to innovate does not mean ignoring uncertainty.
It means consciously engaging with the unknown and developing a viable idea from it.

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FROM EXPLORATION TO PROTOTYPE

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K.I.² is in the research and development phase. We are starting with ourselves. In our first internal labs, we make our working methods visible to one another: creativity and artistic processes on one side, innovation research and structured implementation on the other. Through this exchange, we are developing shared methods and initial workshop prototypes.

These are intended to support people and organisations in initiating innovation processes, recognising resistance and translating new perspectives into concrete possibilities for action.

We are currently working on the following formats:

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THE COURAGE TO INNOVATE
From the unknown to an idea that can be put into practice

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HUMAN CONDITIONS FOR INNOVATION
What human conditions enable innovation?

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THE INNOVATION READINESS LAB
How do people and organisations become ready for change?

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HUMAN INTELLIGENCE IN THE AGE OF AI
Which human abilities become more important in the age of AI?

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AI ESSENTIALS
What people and organisations need to understand about AI today to make responsible decisions.

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Upcoming: Innovation Lab

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Leo Kees and Simon Weinreich are currently developing a prototype for the Innovation Lab.

The launch is planned for 2027.

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SEEKING RESEARCH PARTNERS

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We are looking for institutions that understand innovation as a human and organisational process as well as a technical challenge.

We are interested in universities, foundations, companies, cultural institutions and research networks willing to ask questions, test hypotheses and try out initial formats with us.

We are looking for more than clients.

We are seeking people to engage with as research and development partners—people and institutions who will think, test, challenge and develop ideas with us.