Artificial Intelligence simply explained: New knowledge portal "KI Konkret"
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is considered a key technology and will change our everyday lives and work. Yet many citizens have only a vague idea of what is meant by it. The new web offering of Plattform Lernende Systeme provides a well-founded introduction to the topic - and explains in a clear way how AI works, where it is already being used today and in the near future, and what challenges it poses for society.
Whether in voice assistants, navigation systems or recommendation algorithms for online shopping: AI is already present in many software applications that we use every day. In the future, AI-based assistance systems will also increasingly support people in diagnosing illnesses, selecting job applicants, driving and in numerous other areas of application. Many people are not aware of this. At the same time, erroneous and exaggerated ideas about the possibilities of the technology are circulating - fed not least by Hollywood movies in which robots strive for dominance over humanity.
With its new web offering "KI Konkret", Plattform Lernende Systeme, the expert network on AI initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), provides a knowledge base for citizens. The fact is: AI can do more than conventional software. Unlike conventional software, an AI system learns continuously during operation - and thus changes its results. It is not always possible for humans to understand how an AI system arrived at its results. The development of AI therefore requires special responsibility - accompanied by a social discourse about where we as a society want to use artificial intelligence and where it is better not to. Participation in this discourse requires a basic understanding of the technology and possible applications of AI.
Three key questions to understand AI
Based on three overarching questions, the web offering "KI Konkret" explains important aspects of how AI works, its possibilities and limitations in an understandable way:
What is AI?
This menu item clarifies what science understands by the term Artificial Intelligence, which was already coined in the 1950s: software and robotic systems that exhibit behavior for which human intelligence is commonly assumed. Examples are used to introduce various AI-based techniques (e.g., image recognition, speech processing). Entertaining videos explain how AI systems learn and how the technology has evolved since its inception.
What can AI do?
Examples are used to show where AI is already in use today. Interactive scenarios and multimedia reports illustrate how the technology can support humans in the near future - for example, in the fight against cancer or in rescue missions after disasters. In addition, it will be shown how realistic AI applications differ from utopian ones - in other words, where the boundary between so-called weak and strong AI lies.
What is AI permitted to do?
This menu item deals with ethical, legal and security-related challenges that AI presents us with. Among other things, it discusses how AI systems decide fairly, whether they take jobs away from us, and how their results can be tracked. Experts dispel common myths about Artificial Intelligence.
Test and expand knowledge about AI
In addition to this basic information, the "Good to know" section offers service-oriented content. A glossary explains the most important technical terms. Graduates and students can find a continuously updated overview of study programs in AI and data science in Germany on a map. A quiz allows users to test their own knowledge about AI. To expand this knowledge, the website presents a selection of free online courses on artificial intelligence.
The web offering "KI Konkret" (www.ki-konkret.de) sees itself as a contribution to digital education. Contents can be used by educational institutions if the source (Plattform Lernende Systeme) is named. Additional image material is available at this link (12 MB).
Further information:
Linda Treugut / Birgit Obermeier
Press and Public Relations
Lernende Systeme – Germany's Platform for Artificial Intelligence
Managing Office | c/o acatech
Karolinenplatz 4 | 80333 Munich
T.: +49 89/52 03 09-54 /-51
M.: +49 172/144 58-47 /-39
presse@plattform-lernende-systeme.de