Artificial Intelligence - Baden-Württemberg puts Aleph Alpha's AI system into operation
Baden-Württemberg will be the first state in Germany to use a AI-system, named F13, to significantly relieve the workload of its employees and make the use of administrative services easier for citizens. The system was primarily developed by the Heidelberg AI-startup Aleph Alpha. It will be possible for other public administrations in Germany to use it from September, announced the association GovTech Campus Germany.
Baden-Württemberg's Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) stated that with F13, documents could be analyzed faster, applications could be processed automatically, and complex data could be efficiently evaluated. It's important that the used AI-technologies correspond to ethical principles. "We're not relying on China or America, but we're finding our own European way."
CEO Andrulis: "Meeting highest data protection standards"
The offer is operated on computers in Germany, so that sensitive data does not flow abroad but is processed domestically. The hosting service provider is the company STACKIT, which belongs to the retail and IT conglomerate Schwarz-Gruppe (Lidl, Kaufland). The Schwarz-Group had announced an investment of 500 million Euro in Aleph Alpha together with the risk capital investor Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI) and the Bosch-Consortium in November.
Jonas Andrulis, CEO and founder of Aleph Alpha, stated that F13 fulfills the promise of sovereign AI consistently. "Citizens can rely on the highest data protection standards and experts in the public sector across Germany on understandable results that efficiently complement their expertise and thus enable more time for the concerns of the people."
The system was initially trained with publicly accessible data such as parliamentary proceedings and press releases. In the future, F13 should also learn from internal documents of the administration.
"AI technology can be adapted to administration"
State Minister Florian Stegmann (Greens), Chief of the State Chancellery Baden-Württemberg, emphasized that the system offers concrete added value for employees in the administration. "F13 was a wake-up call. After the hype around the Chatbot ChatGPT from OpenAI, we have shown: AI technology can be adapted to administration."
The euphoria around Aleph Alpha had recently cooled down significantly, also because it became known that the company had only generated slightly more than one million Euro in sales in the previous year. Critics of the startup also pointed out that the announced financing round had not gone as planned, but only 100 million Euro of the 500 million Euro had flowed in at first.
Andrulis said in Heilbronn that these financing details had been communicated. These had also been picked up and reported correctly by some media. "Can we explain that better? Yes, we can always explain that better. Just like our technology is complex, so is our financing."
- The AI-system F13, developed primarily by Aleph Alpha in Heidelberg, will be initially used by the administration in Baden-Württemberg, with the intention of easing the workload of its employees and enhancing the citizen's experience with administrative services.
- Germany's Association GovTech Campus Germany announced that other public administrations can utilize F13 from September, with Baden-Württemberg's Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) being a strong proponent of the system.
- The company STACKIT, under Schwarz-Gruppe's umbrella, provides the hosting service for F13, ensuring that sensitive data is processed domestically to respect data protection standards and avoid reliance on foreign countries like China or America.
- Jonas Andrulis, CEO and founder of Aleph Alpha, highlighted that F13 upholds the commitment to sovereign AI, allowing citizens to rely on top-tier data protection standards and boosting understanding and efficiencies in Germany's public sector.
- State Minister Florian Stegmann (Greens) emphasized the considerable advantage that F13 presents for administrative employees in Baden-Württemberg, considering it a turning point in demonstrating how Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence can be tailored to support modern public administration.
