{"id":4580,"date":"2018-06-20T14:08:34","date_gmt":"2018-06-20T12:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saarland-informatics-campus.de\/piece-of-news\/600-experts-in-artificial-intelligence-sign-a-letter-calling-for-european-action\/"},"modified":"2021-06-10T12:09:16","modified_gmt":"2021-06-10T10:09:16","slug":"600-experts-in-artificial-intelligence-sign-a-letter-calling-for-european-action","status":"publish","type":"sic_news","link":"https:\/\/saarland-informatics-campus.de\/en\/piece-of-news\/600-experts-in-artificial-intelligence-sign-a-letter-calling-for-european-action\/","title":{"rendered":"600 Experts in Artificial Intelligence Sign a Letter Calling for European Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, 600 leading experts in artificial intelligence released a letter calling on European and national leaders to drastically ramp up their support for research excellence and innovation in artificial intelligence (AI). They argue that artificial intelligence will fundamentally change the way we live and work in the future. Professor Philipp Slusallek is one of the signatories.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Among the signatories are top researchers from 20 European countries, from all areas of AI, including many editors of top scientific AI journals, leaders of national AI societies, heads of top research AI institutes, and other top scientists. Starting immediately, additional supporters can sign the letter electronically at claire-ai.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In their letter, the experts argue that research on artificial intelligence is of crucial importance for Europe\u2019s future. \u201cWe live in a knowledge-driven world,\u201d says Holger Hoos, Professor of Machine Learning at Leiden University and one of the initiators of the letter. \u201cKnowledge and smartness are the most valuable resources in any society. Hence, investing in research and education is smart. Investing in research and education in artificial intelligence is doubly smart: It gives intelligent people and machines.\u201d<\/p>\n

The USA and China, even Canada, are investing substantially. Last year, China announced a program aimed at achieving world dominance in all areas of artificial intelligence technologies by 2030. This concerns Morten Irgens, Vice Rector at Oslo Metropolitan University: \u201cIf it had been any other area, I would have said, good for them, we have a number of other areas we are good at. But when it comes to building intelligent machines which basically may transform\u00a0and establish dominance in any imaginable area, from consumer goods to security, we better not keep our heads in the sand.\u201d\u00a0\u201cArtificial intelligence is a global \u2018game changer\u2019,\u201d continues Irgens. \u201cIt will transform our lives and our societies. It is sometimes said that the best way to meet the future is to create it. Let us not leave that to others.\u201d<\/p>\n

On 10 April 2018, 25 European countries signed a pledge to increase funding and coordination of AI research, and two weeks later, the European commission published initial plans to fund AI research and innovation with about 20 billion Euros. \u201cThis investment is enormously important for Europe,\u201d says Prof. Philipp Slusallek, scientific director at the Germany Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), the world’s largest AI research center. \u201cBut let us be smart about how we use it. We, who have signed this letter, feel it is necessary to invest in research excellence in all areas of artificial intelligence, across all of Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The initiative calls for the establishment of a Confederation of Laboratories for Artificial Intelligence Research in Europe (CLAIRE). A large central hub provides the experimental, data, and computing resources that would otherwise be unattainable and provides them to strong regional centers of excellence and all other partners. \u201cCERN is an excellent model of what we plan to achieve with CLAIRE,\u201d says Slusallek. \u201cThe core research is done by many excellent researchers and labs distributed across Europe and the world. But by coordinating their research they get much more leverage and wider recognition in all areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEurope needs not only to increase its research and development in AI, but also join forces,\u201d adds Prof. Hoos. \u201cEurope has many excellent researchers in AI, and many excellent research groups. But it is important that we build on Europe\u2019s strengths: Responsible research and innovation, placing the human in the centre.\u201d\u00a0\u201cWe need AI that complements human intelligence rather than replaces it,\u201d continues Hoos, \u201cAI that helps us overcome our limitations and biases. This is a key aspect of the human-centred approach to artificial intelligence called for by the CLAIRE initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIndustry in many European countries is very well positioned to deploy AI technology,\u201d says Irgens. \u201cThe question is whether that should be technology developed elsewhere, or AI \u2018made in Europe\u2019, strongly based on European values, such as transparency, fairness, social compatibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

About the initiative<\/strong>
\n\u201cCLAIRE\u201d is an acronym for \u201cConfederation of Laboratories for Artificial Intelligence Research in Europe\u201d, or colloquially, \u201cthe Clan of Labs for AI Research in Europe\u201d. The initiative was launched by Dr Holger Hoos, Professor of Machine Learning at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands, Dr Morten Irgens, Vice Rector at Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway, and Prof. Philipp Slusallek, Scientific Director at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Germany. The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) is one of the world’s largest nonprofit contract research institutes for software technology based on artificial intelligence (AI) methods. Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet) is one of Europe\u2019s youngest universities, with a particular focus on technological transformation of society and work life. Leiden University (Universiteit Leiden) is the oldest university in the Netherlands and among the top 100 research-intensive universities in the world.<\/p>\n

Support by top AI researchers<\/strong>
\nAmong the signatories are many editors of scientific AI journals, leaders of national AI societies, heads of top AI institutes, and other top scientists, including<\/p>\n