Quality of Artificial Intelligence: VDE and State of Hesse intensify cooperation

(02.11.2022, Frankfurt am Main/Wiesbaden) How can the quality of artificial intelligence (AI) be verified and improved? This was the topic of today's first AI Quality Summit, hosted by the Hessian Minister for Digital Strategy and Development, Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus, and the VDE. The state of Hesse and the technology organisation are currently in the process of setting up an AI Quality & Testing Hub – a unique nationwide project with European appeal. The hub is intended to help manufacturers not only to increase the quality and performance of their AI products, but also to prove it in the market. To do this, research gaps must be closed, standards agreed upon, test tools provided and simulation environments created. The Hub will address all these prerequisites for AI quality.

Bringing competitive AI products to market

We already encounter artificial intelligence everywhere: in everyday life the playlist suggests the next song, in the garden the mowing robot makes its rounds, in industry AI optimises the parameters for complex production processes or the maintenance intervals. It is obvious that the use of AI systems will increase dramatically in the near future, whether in mobility, medicine, production or finance. Sebastian Hallensleben, Head of Digitalisation and AI at the VDE, sees quality as the decisive prerequisite for bringing competitive products to market: "Only if the quality of AI can actually be measured can real competition emerge as a driver for innovation." Hessen's Digital Minister Kristina Sinemus: "Responsible, benefit-oriented AI is a decisive competitive factor for our federal state and far beyond. At the same time, however, many AI potentials have not yet been tapped in Germany and small and medium-sized enterprises are uncertain about meaningful application possibilities and the necessary quality of AI applications. This is where the state of Hesse comes in with its commitment to an AI Quality & Testing Hub."

At the first AI Quality Summit in Frankfurt, around 150 scientists and representatives of companies, organisations and governments discussed quality aspects of AI such as robustness, resilience, performance, auditability, transparency and security. Regulatory requirements were also on the agenda, such as the frameworks of the OECD, UNESCO, the EU and other multinational institutions. At the Summit, it became clear that artificial intelligence is one of the dominant technologies of our time, crossing the boundaries of scientific disciplines, economic sectors and countries. Participants agreed that AI quality is a key challenge, both for innovation and competition, and as a prerequisite for trustworthiness. It is about aligning AI in interaction with other old and new technologies so that it can deliver its greatest benefits. In addition, the right minds must be mobilised and trained, and the necessary infrastructures created, so that Europe gains technological sovereignty.