With the signing of the cooperation agreement on February 3, 2022, the University of Augsburg (UNIA), the Munich School of Philosophy (HFPH) and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have laid the foundation stone for the joint “Center for Responsible AI Technologies”, which will bring philosophical, ethical and social science issues into the development of AI technologies in an integrated research approach. Supported by three newly created professorships at UNIA, TUM and HFPH and financed by the “Hightech Agenda Bayern”, the new cross-location center will make a valuable contribution to socially responsible and trustworthy AI innovations.

HFPH President Johannes Wallacher, UNIA President Sabine Doering-Manteuffel and TUM Vice President Gerhard Kramer (from left to right), Copyright: TUM Andreas Heddergott

First focus in the field of “medicine, care, health”

With the “Center for Responsible AI Technologies”, the participating universities are significantly expanding their existing interdisciplinary collaboration between natural sciences and technology, humanities and social sciences as well as philosophy. The pilot project will be launched in the first quarter of 2022. The center’s work will initially focus on the application field of “medicine, care and health”. This research project will use use cases on the use of AI in laser therapy for basal cell carcinoma, in endoscopy and in radiology to comparatively work out central philosophical and ethical issues.
In the medium term, further fields of application are to be added in the areas of “Future of Work”, “Mobility” and “Climate, Environment”. There are also plans to expand the collaboration to include the training of students and the area of science communication on the topic of AI. The center is embedded in an environment of several existing professorships at the three partner universities.

Three new professorships are being created as part of the “Hightech Agenda Bayern”

A professorship for “Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Nature and Technology with a Focus on Artificial Intelligence” at HFPH is dedicated to the philosophical foundations of the relationship between humans and machines. Closely linked to this, the professorship “Ethics of AI in Neuroscience” at TUM examines AI topics from a social science and medical perspective. At the University of Augsburg, the appointment procedure for the professorship “Cyber Security and Safety-Critical Systems” is already underway.

The time is ripe for a “Center for Responsible AI Technologies”

“With the center, we want to integrate philosophy, ethics and social sciences into AI development right from the start. Philosophy and social sciences must not be used as a repair shop after the fact. Rather, they must work together with the technical sciences in a targeted manner in order to drive socially responsible innovations and thus also increase social acceptance for AI,” emphasizes the President of the HFPH, Prof. Dr. Dr. Johannes Wallacher.

Further developing artificial intelligence and growing trust

“With our experienced experts in medicine, information technology and moral theology/ethics, we have a unique opportunity to further develop artificial intelligence, explain it and increase trust. In the “Center for Responsible AI Technologies”, we contribute to cyber security and the protection of safety-critical infrastructure. Only in this way can AI develop its full innovative power for all areas of society,” says Prof. Dr. Sabine Doering-Manteuffel, President of the University of Augsburg.
“Throughout the entire innovation process, we must incorporate social science expertise to develop technologies in such a way that they are later socially acceptable and trustworthy,” says Prof. Dr. Thomas F. Hofmann, President of the Technical University of Munich.