Debate

What do people in Baden-Württemberg think about AI and what would they like to tell politicians and researchers? The University of Tübingen established the "AI and Freedom" citizens' council to answer precisely these questions. In this interview, Anika Kaiser and Patrick Klügel from the project team discuss what the council can achieve but also the limits of its influence.

“AI and Sustainability” – Since April 4th, 2023, the science and debate platform te.ma has offered the public a discussion forum, a place to ask questions, or simply to inform themselves about the topic. With this new approach, te.ma and the Cluster of Excellence "Machine Learning" aim to provide new impulses in the complicated thicket of science communication that are focused on dialogue with the public.

Research in machine learning and data science in and from Africa has the potential to play a more significant global role and faces unique challenges. The pan-African network of AIMS (African Institute for Mathematical Sciences) and its postgraduate programmes prepare young Africans to contribute towards this goal.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and democracy have many touchpoints. What is unclear, however, is whether AI will strengthen or weaken democracy in the long run. It is about time that we, as researchers and citizens, get more involved and develop ideas for a digitally competent democracy together.

There is currently much debate about the ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI), with one widespread view holding that AI should never be used to make consequential decisions affecting people. In this blog post, I suggest that on the contrary, rather than worrying about AI “making decisions” about us, we should should pay more attention to who commissioned the chain of technological action using AI rather than the technology itself.

Who makes better medical diagnoses, an algorithm or a human? A philosopher specialized in technology, Thomas Grote, says viewing this as a rivalry isn’t productive. He argues in favor of focusing on the interplay of the two – and emphasizes the significance of philosophy.