Dr. Sebastian Hallensleben, VDE’s AI specialist, has taken over as head of the KITQAR research program. VDE is playing a leading role in this new project funded by the Policy Lab Digital, Work & Society, an organizational unit within the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS). KITQAR aims to make various aspects of data quality measurable and testable so as to improve the data used to train AI systems. It will produce a partially automated test kit to make it easier for users to evaluate data quality in the future.
Hallensleben, explains: “AI applications learn based on data. This data must not only be technically flawless but must also ensure that the application is non-discriminatory. We need to consider the origins of the data, transparency, data protection, liability and many other aspects.” To ensure its work is application-oriented, the project uses both real-world data sets and synthetic data as a basis.
Practical approach, wide-ranging expertise
The topic of artificial intelligence has long been on VDE’s agenda. DKE, its standardization organization, develops frameworks and standards for the life cycle management of cognitive systems as well as the practical implementation of AI ethics.
Stakeholders from business, science, civil society, trade unions and regulatory bodies are involved in the KITQAR project in order to integrate expertise from all relevant areas. “As always with such projects, we’re working towards the joint goal of delivering the basis for norms and standards at the international level,” said Dr. Hallensleben.
KITQAR
The research project KITQAR is funded by the Policy Lab Digital, Work & Society, an organizational unit within the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS). VDE is leading the consortium for the project, and Dr. Sebastian Hallensleben, Chair of the AI Joint Technical Committee at CEN-CENELEC and member of the classification and risk group at the OECD Network of Experts on AI, has taken over at the helm. Other partners are the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), the International Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (IZEW) at the University of Tübingen and the Hasso Plattner Institute at the University of Potsdam. The project was launched in December 2021 and is scheduled to run for 20 months.
About VDE
VDE, one of the largest technology organizations in Europe, has been regarded as a synonym for innovation and technological progress for more than 125 years. VDE is the only organization in the world that combines science, standardization, testing, certification and application consulting under one umbrella. The VDE mark has been synonymous with the highest safety standards and consumer protection for over 100 years.
Our passion is the advancement of technology, the next generation of engineers and technologists, and lifelong learning and career development “on the job”. Within the VDE network, over 2,000 employees at over 60 locations worldwide, more than 100,000 honorary experts and 1,500 companies are dedicated to ensuring a future worth living: networked, digital, electrical. We shape the e-dialistic future.
The headquarters of VDE (Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies) is in Frankfurt am Main. For more information, visit www.vde.com.
