Plattform Lernende Systeme at the Digital Summit – harnessing Artificial Intelligence for growth and better quality of life
Germany has the potential to become a sustainable hub for innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) where self-learning systems ensure growth and better quality of life. At the Digital Summit organised by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the panel of experts from Plattform Lernende Systeme, Germany’s platform for Artificial Intelligence, demonstrated that achieving this goal calls for industry, SMEs, researchers and politicians to work together. On 3 December in Nuremberg, experts from science, business and society discussed how self-learning systems are revolutionising the economy and everyday life – and debated the next course of action.
The live survey carried out during the discussion between panellists from Plattform Lernende Systeme revealed that the majority of the audience considered higher productivity and efficiency as the key benefit offered by Artificial Intelligence. Many company processes can indeed be automated with the help of AI and thus rendered more efficient – from maintenance in production and the processing of payments right through to HR operations. Sebastian Wieczorek, Head of the SAP Leonardo Machine Learning Foundation, predicted that 60 percent of human tasks could be automated by 2025. In the workplace, intelligent software and self-learning systems support humans and make them more productive. Besides this boost in productivity, AI also generates new business models and job opportunities. Putting a figure to the economic potential of AI, Frank Riemensperger, Chairman of Accenture in Germany, suggested the use of AI could see the German economy grow by 3 percent as opposed to 1.4 percent each year.
“More than just efficiency, Artificial Intelligence is about the quality of our professional and private lives,” highlighted Tanja Rückert, Head of Bosch Building Technologies and a member of the Steering Committee at Plattform Lernende Systeme. Hans Dietl, Science Officer at Otto Bock Healthcare Products and a fellow committee member, explained for instance how prosthetic hands that evaluate human biosignals with the help of AI give wearers their autonomy and freedom back. Platform member Christian Friege, CEO of the CEWE Foundation, demonstrated how Artificial Intelligence can help create photo albums.
Artificial Intelligence opens up many opportunities for business and society. The German federal government’s AI strategy therefore sets out to tap into this potential and secure Germany technological leadership in the international community. Karl-Heinz Streibich, Co-Chair of Plattform Lernende Systeme and President of acatech, believes Germany has the benefit of a good starting position in this respect: “Our country is home to globally leading businesses in all sectors and we have the minds and means to cultivate an outstanding research landscape. Besides our expertise and diverse entrepreneurial scene, our key asset lies in the industrial data and domain knowledge of industrial companies.”
The platform’s expert panellists all agreed, however, that the most vital aspect has to be people’s trust in Artificial Intelligence. This calls for broad debate throughout society on both the risks and opportunities raised by Artificial Intelligence, for which a basic understanding of AI applications is essential.
Ahead of the Digital Summit, Plattform Lernende Systeme published a map of Germany revealing examples of AI applications at www.ki-landkarte.de, highlighting the benefits and added value of Artificial Intelligence. The wide-ranging examples include robots for industrial production, AI-based recognition of road signs for autonomous vehicles, and intelligent assistance systems in healthcare provision. By creating this map in cooperation with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), Plattform Lernende Systeme, a platform initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), has fulfilled one of the criteria in the Artificial Intelligence strategy devised by the German federal government.
Images and videos (in German) of Plattform Lernende Systeme at the Digital Summit can be found here.
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