Valentin Zacharias — Lead Architect, Generative AI (Mercedes-Benz, AI Center of Competence)https://vzach.de/en-ushttps://vzach.de/blog/2026-09-slopgrenade/https://vzach.de/blog/2026-09-slopgrenade/A name for walls of AI-generated text sent without care or refinement — little effort for the sender, more work for the recipient.Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2026-07-fde-missingrole/https://vzach.de/blog/2026-07-fde-missingrole/In large German enterprises, the standard Echo–Delta–Dev pod has a gap: governance. The model needs a fourth role.Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2026-02-agentdimensions/https://vzach.de/blog/2026-02-agentdimensions/The term 'agent' is used loosely across AI systems. Four structural dimensions help distinguish different types of agents more precisely.Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2026-01-constants/https://vzach.de/blog/2026-01-constants/As AI capabilities race ahead, the fundamental constraints around reliability, organizational adoption, and job-level automation are likely to remain unchanged in 2026.Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2026-01-worldmodels/https://vzach.de/blog/2026-01-worldmodels/As multimodal generation matures, the AI frontier in 2026 shifts toward interactive world models and promptable simulation engines.Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2026-01-benchmarks/https://vzach.de/blog/2026-01-benchmarks/Next generation Benchmarks push development toward long-horizon reliability—systems that can perform consistently over time, manage state, and recover from errors.Tue, 06 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2026-01-agentswithagency/https://vzach.de/blog/2026-01-agentswithagency/As agentic systems mature, 2026 marks the shift from reasoning about the world to acting in, permissioned, and with memory.Sun, 04 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2026-01-generativeui/https://vzach.de/blog/2026-01-generativeui/Extending 2025’s momentum, this first part explores how generative UI and intent-driven development may redefine what applications look like in 2026.Sat, 03 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2025-conferences/https://vzach.de/blog/2025-conferences/A curated guide to the must-attend tech conferences of 2026 with a focus on data and AI, from startup festivals to AI research summits.Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2025-languagethought/https://vzach.de/blog/2025-languagethought/As large language models begin to exhibit reasoning-like behavior, evidence from human cognition raises an intriguing question: how far can language alone really take us? What is the relation between reasoning and language in humansTue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2025-hoteuai/https://vzach.de/blog/2025-hoteuai/What are the companies in Data and AI in europe or with European roots showing momentum going into 2026 - here's an overviewThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/makeaigreatagain/https://vzach.de/blog/makeaigreatagain/Exploring Donald Trump's AI stance and its implications for global regulation and innovation.Sun, 17 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2023-productivity/https://vzach.de/blog/2023-productivity/Recent scientific studies shed light on how generative AI tools such as GitHub Copilot affect developer productivity, skill requirements, and performance.Tue, 09 May 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2014-enchantedcar/https://vzach.de/blog/2014-enchantedcar/An exploration of the connected car through the lens of enchanted objects and fundamental human desires.Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2006-internationaldayofthebackup/https://vzach.de/blog/2006-internationaldayofthebackup/A proposal for an IT-related ritual to encourage regular data backups among everyday computer users.Wed, 19 Apr 2006 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2006-allseeingcomputers/https://vzach.de/blog/2006-allseeingcomputers/A discussion on the future of image recognition and the rise of seeing computers.Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2005-strangetechnological/https://vzach.de/blog/2005-strangetechnological/A reflection on how future technological developments may appear as strange to us as self-driving cars once did to earlier generations.Wed, 14 Dec 2005 00:00:00 GMThttps://vzach.de/blog/2005-metricsfaultyinference/https://vzach.de/blog/2005-metricsfaultyinference/It is my firm conviction that with current logic based inference techniques it is not possible to get “internet scale” or “Turing test able” reasoning.Tue, 06 Dec 2005 00:00:00 GMT