Sovereignty and cooperation: Towards a strong European AI ecosystem
The current corona crisis is accelerating digitisation in the economy and society - and thus also the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, the pandemic is also revealing the weaknesses of digitisation in Europe: where data as a basis for AI is lacking, where bottlenecks in data processing become apparent, the technology cannot develop its full potential. The three-day European Big Data Value Forum 2020, which opened yesterday as part of the German EU Council Presidency, will focus on how secure and high-performance data rooms and infrastructures can be realised across Europe and how successful, trustworthy AI can be created from Europe on this basis. Plattform Lernende Systeme is a partner of this year's forum.
The goal of the German AI strategy as well as of European AI policy is to design competitive AI systems in the interest of the people, based on European legal and value standards. Ultimately, it is safe, beneficial and ethically sound AI systems that people trust and will succeed.
In her opening speech, Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek, co-chair of Plattform Lernende Systeme, pointed out that anyone who wants to set standards must be a technology leader. Europe had to claim sovereignty, especially with regard to data exchange. A secure, independent European data and infrastructure ecosystem such as Gaia-X could serve as an anchor of trust for society, science and industry, said Karliczek.
The importance of independent infrastructures and open data rooms in Europe was also underlined by Karl-Heinz Streibich, co-chairman of Plattform Lernende Systeme and acatech president. However, whether people trust AI systems also depends on whether they understand the technology in its basic features and recognise a benefit for their own lives. "We must conduct a public dialogue on the potential and limits of AI and decide together how we want to use AI in Europe," said Karl-Heinz Streibich. "Only in this way can we design AI systems that are supported by a broad social consensus. Only in this way can we make Germany and Europe fit for the digital decade.
During the three-day conference, experts from Plattform Lernende Systeme as well as from European and German science, business and politics will provide insights into the state of the art in research on Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. They will discuss innovative data-driven applications in medicine, mobility or autonomous systems and political strategies.
The European Big Data Value Forum is the leading European conference on Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. It is organised annually by the Big Data Value Association (BDVA) with the support of the European Commission. In 2020, Plattform Lernende Systeme, together with the Industry 4.0 Platform and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), is a partner of this year's virtual conference.
The videos of the programme for the first day of the European Big Data Value Forum 2020 are freely available at https://www.plattform-lernende-systeme.de/ebdva-konferenz.html
Further information:
Linda Treugut / Birgit Obermeier
Press and Public Relations
Lernende Systeme – Germany's Platform for Artificial Intelligence
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Karolinenplatz 4 | 80333 Munich
T.: +49 89/52 03 09-54 /-51
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presse@plattform-lernende-systeme.de