Artificial Intelligence - Research Center starts - Bridge between Research and Application
Federal Digital Minister Volker Wissing and Rhineland-Palatinate Economic Minister Daniela Schmitt (both FDP) have opened a new center for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Kaiserslautern. The AI Innovation and Quality Center at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) is part of the initiative "Mission AI" and the first of two planned centers in Germany, with which the federal government aims to drive the "deployment of trustworthy AI" forward.
"With the AI center, we are creating a bridge between research and practical application," said Wissing. In Kaiserslautern, innovative ideas can emerge, and AI applications can undergo a quality check. "Companies receive concrete support to assess AI risks early – also in relation to EU regulations. We want to promote the development of trustworthy AI 'Made in Germany' and strengthen German companies."
"Artificial Intelligence helps us process things much faster, but we must ensure that our data regulations and values are respected," emphasized Wissing. "We must ensure that AI supports us neutrally and does not deceive us. These things are not easy to check for everyone. We are creating centers that have this expertise."
Minister Schmitt named Kaiserslautern with the DFKI the "central location for AI in Germany." She was particularly pleased that Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the two new, federally funded AI centers. "Our medium-sized companies in the state will particularly benefit from knowledge transfer and the development of corresponding applications."
Strengthen trust
The AI Center is run jointly by the German Academy of Science and Engineering acatech and the DFKI. A particular focus is on the development of testing procedures for AI applications to build trust in the technology. Consulting and testing support, for example, will be supplemented by workshops.
The focus of the new center will initially be on the use of AI in the healthcare sector, as it was announced – also due to the strong presence of companies and research institutions in medicine, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology in the region. The DFKI is to develop tools for evaluating the quality of medical AI systems and for their improvement.
Not limited to healthcare sector
The center is not limited to the healthcare sector but is open to all industries. "Mission AI" is a broader initiative to promote AI development in Germany. With a total budget of 32 million Euro, financed by the Federal Digital Ministry, the initiative also aims to boost the AI competitiveness of German companies. A second center is planned to be established in Berlin by the end of the year.
In essence, the new AI Center in Kaiserslautern is expected to primarily develop testing criteria for AI. Based on these criteria, it will then find or develop tools, for example, that document which standards are being followed in the data used, how decisions are made by the respective AI, and how these decisions are justified, explained the Managing Director of the DFKI in Kaiserslautern, Andreas Dengel.
Project until end of 2025
"In the end, at least a minimum standard should emerge, which creates trust in AI by resolving uncertainty," said Dengel to the German Press Agency. "The center should be a point of contact for all companies, especially for smaller and medium-sized companies and start-ups." The center is expected to appeal to companies, for example, that already use AI solutions in their production and want to market them.
Another task of the Center, according to Dengel, is to consider creating a "vehicle" for large-scale testing of AI systems. "You cannot do that over the cloud of a large US corporation," he said. "You need an independent trust center for AI computing." Part of the AI Center in Kaiserslautern is also supposed to become a new showroom in the city center. "It should make AI understandable, alleviate fears, also show what AI is and what it is not."
The project of the AI Center is initially set up until the end of 2025. However, there are plans that it will continue beyond that.
- Minister Volker Wissing highlighted the importance of ensuring that AI respects data regulations and values, as it can process things faster.
- The federal government, led by Volker Wissing, aims to drive the deployment of trustworthy AI with the opening of two planned centers in Germany.
- Daniela Schmitt, the Rhineland-Palatinate Economic Minister, was thrilled that Kaiserslautern, with the DFKI, was chosen as one of the two new AI centers funded by the German government.
- The AI Innovation and Quality Center in Kaiserslautern is run jointly by acatech and the DFKI, with a focus on developing testing procedures for AI applications to build trust in the technology.
- The new center in Kaiserslautern will primarily develop testing criteria for AI, aiming to create a minimum standard that builds trust in AI by resolving uncertainty.
- Andreas Dengel, the Managing Director of the DFKI in Kaiserslautern, noted that the center will serve as a point of contact for companies, especially smaller and medium-sized ones and start-ups, seeking support with AI solutions.
- Dengel also mentioned the possibility of creating a "vehicle" for large-scale testing of AI systems within the AI Center in Kaiserslautern, to provide an independent trust center for AI computing.
- The project of the AI Center in Kaiserslautern is initially planned until the end of 2025, but there are plans for it to continue beyond that period.
