The Federal Government wants to "skip innovation" – netzpolitik.org



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Germany wants to become number one. This reads well as a title, especially when it comes to artificial intelligence theme hype. Threatened near the gaping hole of the summer, the federal government is now issuing a twelve – page document on the key points of a national AI strategy. This already exists in some of the major industrialized countries. Similarly, the federal government is placing in its cornerstones a mix of public subsidies for the economy and relaxing the legal framework to help the industry develop technologies with strong data intensity. The government also wants to increase the availability of public data for businesses.

It is not known for the moment how much money the federal government wants to release specifically for the funding of AI. The budget for 2019 is still not done and also possible budget grants from the ministries are up to now a Luftschloss. The document talks about promoting more so-called "jump innovation". The word creation must replace the term "disruptive innovation", which is too negatively occupied to the taste of the federal government. For innovative projects, there should be competitions with millions of prices modeled after the US X.

The key document is embarrbadingly lacking a definition that would describe what the German government calls "artificial intelligence" – and what does not work. As a result, we should not be surprised in the future if other areas of research are adorned with the term AI in order to participate in a possible monetary rain of the federal government. Because this promises the federal government in the first place: Promotion of projects, centers of competence, applied research.

Science as a supplier of the economy

In general, the IA is considered by the federal government as a sector where the science of the economy has to work. This corresponds to the understanding of science recently highlighted by the Federal Minister of Education Anja Karliczek (CDU): Karliczek confuses education and education and considers universities and colleges as mere providers of the economy whose Innovation must be generated.

The German Government has now declared that it considers Germany as a research center for third-party funds and, in particular, high-quality foreign scientists, which it considered a priority to "attract and retain experts in artificial intelligence in Germany". How she wants to do this, however, only lets her see it vaguely. Because those who can work hard on their research questions elsewhere, while producing flowering application proses in this country every two years, will think about coming to Germany.

Pious Greetings

Other proposals also postulate greetings for the future use AI, without making it clear or even just indicating how they could be achieved. This includes, for example, the creation of "justified trust [in KI-Technologien] on the basis of transparent procedures and traceability for citizens". A wishful thinking, which today is nothing more than that. With respect to AI applications, which millions of people are already facing daily, it is rare to talk about traceability of decisions. In commercial use, the question also arises as to why companies with business models enriched in AI should be interested in the "transparency", the traceability or even the partial knowledge of the users.

Change in the world of work, which would be accelerated by the use of AI. This is largely unchallenged, but the entire document does not say a word about how the gains from this transformation could be distributed in our society and if and how the federal government plans to interfere.

Open Data Hopes

More use Public data play an important role in the cornerstones. This is true because in terms of Open Data, Germany is lagging behind for quite some time. In the federal government paper: "Public and science data open more intensively to research on AI and their economic and social use in the direction of an open data strategy. (If it's possible."

The implementation of open data promises has failed so far due to the lack of standardization tools at all levels of public administration. The federal government also shows little sensitivity to the dangers in its approach to the use of personal data, for example in the health sector: even the so-called anonymised data can easily be anonymised, as shown by many examples of such data. last years

. The approach raises another question. To be sure, the demand for "increasing data resources of research institutions" makes sense. However, the EU copyright reform proposed by German politicians in the EU hampers this process with an article that severely limits what is called "crawling". data, which could make it more difficult to use open data. Where is the federal government's open data strategy, which also deserves this name?

Unsolved computer security issues

The federal government repeatedly insists that security issues however, explain the relationships in more detail. It remains to be seen what priorities can be set in the future. One thing already seems clear: the Federal Office of Information Security (BSI) is out of the running because only a "coordination of measures" with the Central Bureau of Information Technology in the security sector (ZITiS), newly created but not yet fully operational, is planned, so we can be curious to know what the hacking troop with its former head of BND has to offer at the top for services in the technologies of l & # 39; AI.

As befits an Eckpunktepapier worthy of the name, the federal government ensures, with virtually enter into dialogue with all social groups "with the participation of civil society". She also wants to address the ethical issues of AI. However, the form of this dialog is not yet indicated in the document. It only remains to be hoped that the "dialogue" will not be such that Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, the hard-hearted, announced a drone debate in Germany, but then demanded without much talk of armed drones for the Bundeswehr. In the document on key issues, the extremely important area of ​​military research on AI is even addressed, which is disappointing: not a word devoted to the problem paper. The federal government completely ignores the widely debated issue of cooperation in civilian research on AI issues with the military, most recently caused by Google protesters

The Thick Rolls of the Granite Mill

After years of inertia The federal government and the Bundestag have recently been working on digitization on several fronts simultaneously. The Merkel government recently met for the first time in the digital firm and said it wanted to create a digital board that was not yet specified. In addition, the new Federal Data Ethics Commission will meet for the first time in August. Its sixteen members should provide suggestions for dealing with AI, algorithmic processes and data policy by the summer of 2019. Meanwhile, the Bundestag has also set up a Commission of 39; survey, which will also offer suggestions on how to deal with AI and algorithms by the summer of 2020.

This is not enough for Digitaldöns. Without waiting for the results of its own ethics committee or investigative commission to the Bundestag, the federal government plans to present a digital strategy by the end of 2018. The fact that the data ethics committee can achieve substantial results by then can probably be ruled out. Nevertheless, the federal government repeatedly writes in its key issues paper that it intends to incorporate the commission's findings.

Artificial intelligence plays a key role in the digital strategy. The planned AI strategy, the cornerstones of which are now available, will be presented before the Digital Agenda. For this, the responsible ministries (BMWi, BMWF, BMAS) have a long way to go. The key points presented will be sent to all badociations and potential stakeholders for consultation and will present specific proposals by the end of September. At the same time, various federal departments are holding workshops on topics related to AI strategy, such as mobility, industry 4.0 or health. The Federal Ministry of Economy is tearing him off a project, which the federal government must decide in November

In the new year he may then start slowly with the German promotion of AI. Meanwhile, American and Asian digital giants are building their dominance and creating facts today.

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