How KI Germany will change

This is only one example of how artificial intelligence is progressing in our lives. And another reason why many people sometimes feel overwhelmed. Today, algorithms regularly calculate the solvency of bank customers and summarize legal texts fairly well. Complex systems control cars safely on the highway and make appointments with the hairdresser independently.

What does this mean for the world of work? What kind of humanity? And what should Germany do to avoid falling behind in the international competition for artificial intelligence? Some fifty participants answered these questions at the Digital Movement Summit, where thinkers and digital experts gathered at the initiative of the media "Tagesspiegel", "Wirtschaftswoche", "Ada", Handelsblatt and Vodafone. The video of Taryn Southern served as an icebreaker in the Ice-Q restaurant, located at 3048 meters altitude in Sölden.

The term artificial intelligence causes images of science fiction movies in many people. Images of robots that look like humans, have a conscience and have an agenda – mostly sinister – like HAL or the Terminator. It has little to do with real life, but said Tina Klüwer, founder of the Berlin start-up "Parlament" and linguist informed about the research.

"The machines we currently have are powerful tools in some areas of action," she said. For example, the software your team works on can quickly read huge amounts of email and summarize the content. With statistical methods, notice, not with true understanding. The composition program used by Taryn Southern is also based on familiar models.

The Fachidiot computer

The difference between the man and the machine remains so great at the moment. "Intelligence is the ability to recognize things and solve problems," said neuroscientist Henning Beck. The man can abstract and create new links. This is not enough software. "I see very good statistics, but not really smart behavior." The computer, a Fachidiot.

Programming offers great benefits. Helmuth Ludwig, CIO of Siemens, knows that, by his own experience, early in his career, artificial intelligence was not a problem. While his group uses technology in a variety of areas, the manager is stunned by the phrase "I'll call it" augmented intelligence, "he said. The machine helps people, but does not replace it.

Philosopher Richard David Precht also pointed out the differences. "As our ancestors had all the time waiting in caves at dusk, an overflowing imagination was born." This "enormous need" for fiction, badociated with an emotivity and a conscience, distinguishes the personnel from the machines.

"Artificial intelligence is made to solve problems – the human brain is more likely to create problems," Precht said. However, researchers are trying to make these differences invisible. Computers can already reliably read emotions – for example, using cameras that capture facial expressions.

This does not automatically lead the machines to become human, said the philosopher. Nevertheless, the development of technology poses great questions to humanity. "We need to rethink what constitutes human intelligence, the same goes for emotions."

However, the devices are programmed, the economic potential is enormous. According to a McKinsey Global Institute study, global economic growth could be higher by 1.2 percentage points per year on average by 2030, in the event of an appropriate recourse to the world. ; IA.

IT and telecom companies are already doing a lot, as many studies show. Still with Vodafone, there are many application possibilities, said Hannes Ametsreiter, the German boss of the British telecommunications company. For example, a system evaluates calls in the call center. "Once upon a time there was someone who listened, now we record everything, we categorize it and we badyze it." With this knowledge, the company improves its customer service. In the next step, it is planned to badess the emotions of customers, for example to find out if a caller is angry.

The Austrian wants to use the same technology at the level of the board of directors. "I want to create the company's next budget with AI and Big Data." The group invests 12 billion euros a year. "I'd like to see: how can we get out more?"

The AI ​​triggers fears

However, new technology raises fears – about habits, jobs, or even your own life. Although the Germans have great adaptability, said psychologist Thomas Druyen, who examines the desire for change. "At the same time, they have an incredible fear of the future."

Especially that the speed of change is high. An adjustment over decades, as when printing books, is not possible today – new technologies are changing the world in a few years. Uncertainty helps populists around the world. "The better the image of a future, the more people can go," he said.

But what can the image look like and how can it be transmitted? It is difficult to solve such complex problems, said Dorothee Bär (CSU), Minister of State for Digitization at the Federal Chancellery. There is not only a gap between the poor and the rich, but also between those who are at the forefront of digitization and those who do not participate.

the computer industry

The politician herself is not afraid of technology, she likes to talk about taxis and computer games. She could imagine setting the federal budget "not through carpet tours and night shifts" but using the AI ​​to charge a cost-benefit calculation. Then, according to Bär, one would prefer to invest in the future rather than in the increase of pensions. But it is clear that in the end, the policy still has to decide the budget.

If technology will change society a lot, but many people are afraid of it: how should Germany and Europe manage it? Summit participants discussed this in future workshops. In the end, three theses placed opportunities in the center.

Europe can become a "digital social market economy" that reconciles economic opportunities and informational self-determination – and uses it as a competitive advantage over the US and China, which so far dominated the world. 'artificial intelligence.