Bitkom is calling for a federal strategy for the development and use of artificial intelligence. Among other things, the digital association proposes providing at least four billion euros in government funding for research and creating 40 additional professorships at universities to meet future demand for skilled workers.
From Bitkom's perspective, the goal is not only to keep Germany internationally competitive in AI research, but also to promote the transfer of research results into marketable products.
"Artificial intelligence is a key technology whose importance cannot be overestimated. It is a fundamental innovation that will profoundly change the economy, politics, and society,"
says Bitkom President Achim Berg.
"Germany has established a very good position here in recent years, especially in research and teaching. For the coming legislative period, we need a strategy to translate our strength in research into strength in the economy."
Together with the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Bitkom has published a publication entitled "Decision Support with Artificial Intelligence – Economic Significance, Societal Challenge, Human Responsibility." More than 200 pages demonstrate the areas of business in which AI applications are already being used today and the role humans still play in automated decision-making. A separate chapter is devoted to ethical issues surrounding automated decision-making, while legal and regulatory questions and the discussion of algorithms as economic assets are also addressed in separate chapters. The paper concludes with a detailed presentation of specific innovations in the business model using examples from companies.
Artificial Intelligence: An ethical balancing act
“We must deal intensively with the ethical and legal issues surrounding AI,”
says Berg.
"If we succeed in establishing a social consensus here, we can create intelligent systems that improve people's living conditions, strengthen their autonomy, and expand their options for action. At the same time, the use of AI is a balancing act. These new systems must serve people, not disempower them."
The Bitkom policy paper “Artificial Intelligence: Creating Intelligent Systems While Adhering to Ethical Standards” is available here.
