Banks get computer programmes to assess whether their clients are credit worthy. Computer software helps to select personnel. How and why the AI makes an assessment or recommendation is, however, often not transparent. When it comes to artificial neural networks, even experts can’t unscramble what’s going on inside the black box and how the AI comes to its conclusions. Another problem is that because the algorithms are trained with data deriving from reality, they are in danger of replicating a world that we actually want to change, reproducing discriminatory behaviour, for example. 

The opportunities inherent in this knowledge are explained in Episode 4 of “AI and Us” by Humboldtians Christian Becker-Asano, Tobias Matzner, Daniel Rückert and Aimée van Wynsberghe.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables more than 2,000 researchers from all over the world to spend time conducting research in Germany. The Foundation maintains a network of well over 30,000 Humboldtians from all disciplines in more than 140 countries worldwide – including 57 Nobel Laureates.

As part of the German government’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation can appoint a total of 30 Alexander von Humboldt Professors for Artificial Intelligence in the years up to 2024. These chairs are contributing to work being done to comprehensively investigate the opportunities AI offers for our future and to make use of them. They will also help strengthen Germany’s standing as an internationally attractive and influential location in this important field.