Participants in the first meeting of the steering committee on 1 August 2019 founded a steering group for the development of a Standardization Roadmap on Artificial Intelligence.
© DIN

German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi), German Institute for Standardization (DIN) and leading figures from industry, politics, science and representatives of civil society found steering group

On August 1, leading figures from industry, politics, science and representatives of civil society, together with the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) and the German Institute for Standardization (DIN), founded a steering group for the Standardization Roadmap on Artificial Intelligence (AI), thus paving the way for the expansion of Germany as an AI hub. Prof. Wolfgang Wahlster, Chief Executive Advisor of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), will be the head of the steering group. There is a need for action when it comes to transferring research results into applications, building trust and being able to articulate AI applications clearly. Standards and specifications play a central role when addressing these issues and will provide a clear framework for action for all those involved. The German Federal Government has allocated a central role to standards in the field of artificial intelligence. BMWI is thus one of the initiators of the AI Roadmap.

Ensuring the quality and practicability of AI

With the founding of the 18-person steering group, an important step has been taken in creating the necessary framework for artificial intelligence. “Standards and specifications are an essential building block in our AI strategy, which aims for modern, safe and public service-oriented AI applications. This is why we initiated the Roadmap”, said Stefan Schnorr, Head of Digital & Innovation Policy, BMWi and representative of the German Federal Government in the steering group. “Standards play a crucial role in a viable regulatory framework for AI. They open up international markets for German companies and their innovations”, added Andreas Steier, member of the German Bundestag, member of the Study Commission AI of the Bundestag, rapporteur of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group for AI and member of the steering group. For DIN, the AI Roadmap has top priority. “We need a framework for AI and hence a clear overview of where standards and specifications can even better support the application of artificial intelligence”, according to Christoph Winterhalter, Chairman of the DIN Executive Board. “The AI Roadmap will help us to determine what needs exist and to ensure the quality of AI moving forward.” A further goal is to intensify the international work already in progress and to bring German and European AI standards to the international level.

 Filiz Elmas, Head of Business Development Artificial Intelligence at DIN, is coordinating the project: “The Roadmap will be developed in an open and transparent process and should be published in time for the Digital Summit 2020. Interested parties are encouraged to participate in the development of the Roadmap.” The steering group will meet at regular intervals to structure the Roadmap and to determine the content and strategic orientation of the expert groups. The kick-off meeting will take place in Berlin on 16 October 2019.  Representatives from industry, science, the public sector and civil society should contact Filiz Elmas if they are interested in taking part in the process.

Members of the steering group

Dr. Tarek R. Besold (neurocat GmbH), Jörg Bienert (Bundesverband Künstliche Intelligenz e. V.), Dr. Julia Borggräfe (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales), Dr. Joachim Bühler (Verband der TÜV e. V.), Dr. Oliver Grün (Bundesverband IT-Mittelstand e. V), Matthias Hartmann (IBM Deutschland), Stefan Heumann (Stiftung Neue Verantwortung), Prof. Jana Koehler (Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz GmbH), Prof. Klaus Mainzer (Technische Universität München), Dr. Dirk Hecker (Fraunhofer-Institut IAIS), Dr. Christoph Peylo (Robert Bosch GmbH), Alexander Rabe (eco Verband der Internetwirtschaft e. V.), Stefan Schnorr (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie), Andreas Steier (Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands, MdB), Dr. Volker Treier (Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag e. V.), Prof. Wolfgang Wahlster (Lenkungskreis Plattform Lernende Systeme), Prof. Dieter Wegener (Siemens AG), Christoph Winterhalter (Deutsches Institut für Normung e. V.)