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Wer sitzt im Kasten?
Wie KI funktioniert, erklärt für Neugierige: mit einem Schachautomaten von 1770 und einer Landkarte der Wörter.
Zur Serie →Valentin Staubmann
From Amiga to AI
Building useful technology with curiosity and decades of experience — from mechanical engineering to systems, development, and AI that actually helps people.
See my work →Hi, I'm Valentin Staubmann — an IT engineer with a background in mechanical engineering and many years of experience in systems, development, and open-source technologies. IT Engineer @ iqoqi.at.
Before moving into IT, I worked as a mechanical engineer. That background still shapes how I approach technology today: with precision, curiosity, and a focus on practical, long-term solutions.
A short history
Growing up alongside the technology
- 1985
A Schneider, a green screen, and games typed from a manual
One of my first hands-on experiences with computers: typing in programs line by line from a thick manual, on a Schneider with a green monochrome monitor.
- 1987
First computer — Commodore Amiga 500
Owning an Amiga 500 was a big step. It pulled me deeper into computers and showed me how much creativity there is in technology.
- 1990
286 → 386 → 486 — the PC years
From DOS to early Windows, I kept learning how computers work, and how the right tools make complex things manageable.
- 1996
First internet access and web development
Going online for the first time opened up a whole new world. I built my first website from scratch and was hooked on the web from then on.
- 2000
Java, and sending pictures before MMS
I joined a software company knowing little more than HTML and learned Java on the job. MMS didn’t exist yet, so we built our own way to send pictures between phones: a Java client split the image into packets and sent them, over a protocol we had written ourselves, to a Java server we had also built. A wild time, and one that shaped me.
- 2001
UMTS demos and mobile applications
I worked on Java applications for a mobile demo environment that showcased early UMTS use cases, video calls among them.
- 2002
Oracle cluster administration for hospitality software
Hotel systems have to run around the clock. Looking after their Oracle clusters taught me what stable, scalable, and reliable really mean.
- 2005
Going independent
I went self-employed and worked for clients in the hospitality industry, building on what hotel systems had taught me. Two years of running my own business, before the next chapter began.
- 2007
Joining IQOQI
I joined IQOQI, the Austrian Academy of Sciences’ institute for basic research in quantum optics and quantum information. It’s a long chapter, and I’m still writing it — here is what it holds.
- 2025
AI-assisted content and new tools
AI has become part of my toolkit too. This website was built with its help, a natural next step after decades of watching technology evolve.
- 2026
AI strategy diploma
I completed an intensive diploma programme in AI strategy: a few packed weeks of strategy, governance, and hands-on practice. I finished with distinction, and came away with a changed view of what responsible AI implementation really takes.
It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.Robert H. Goddard — pioneer rocket engineer (1882–1945)