Workshops - European Future Technology Summit (EFTS)
After the official welcome to the European Future Technology Summit - EFTS by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of EUREL, Markus B. Jaeger, a digital welcome speech by MEP Moritz Körner (Renew Europe) was addressed to the young and future engineers. MEP Körner, as a member of the EU Parliament's Intergroup on Artificial Intelligence and Digitalization, has a very close relationship with the topics of the EFTS workshops.
Artificial Intelligence - Digital Trust - EU AI Act: Dr Sebastian Hallensleben (VDE Head of Artificial Intelligence & Digital Trust Department), Kai Zenner (Head of Office and Digital Policy Adviser for Member of European Parliament Axel Voss from European People's Party Group) and Irina Orssich (Head of Sector for Artificial Intelligence Policy at the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology - DG CONNECT), impressively demonstrated to the participants how important trust is for even the simplest things in human life. Trust has this special role especially in the digital space and in the context of AI. The presentations of the three experts from different fields gave important insights into the policy and the AI Act of the European Union. In this context, the "AI Trust Label" created by VDE was seen by all as the best possible solution to ensure people's trust in AI.
AI, intelligence and deepfakes: Dr Emmanuel Kahembwe (CEO of VDE UK, AI Architect of VDE group) explored the questions "Is AI stupid?" and "What is intelligence anyway?". Emmanuel Kahembwe’ s talk got the audience thinking and encouraged them to rethink the definition of intelligence and the intent in the context of algorithms. Dr Emmanuel Kahembwe (CEO of VDE UK, AI Architect of VDE group) explored the questions "Is AI stupid?" and "What is intelligence anyway?". Emmanuel Kahembwe’ s talk got the audience thinking and encouraged them to rethink the definition of intelligence and the intent in the context of algorithms. In a presentation extraordinaire, Jessica Fritz (responsible for the topic of Cybersecurity at VDE) reversed the roles and let the AI-animated "Parker" lead the conversation. The AI-generated talk about deepfakes was eye-opening: A simple 7-minute video recording of a person is enough for AI tools to use it in such a way as to attribute to it all the statements and facial expressions that a person with a crime would like. Even the best current algorithms for detecting fakes currently only have a success rate of less than 80%.
Trust in AI – Quality & Testing of AI: The presentations by Dr Michael Rammensee (managing director of the "AI Quality & Testing Hub" with the Hessian Minister for Digital Strategy and Development and the VDE) and Ferdinand Ferroli (Director of Policy & Research at IDENTITY Valley) on digital responsibility, quality of AI and testing of AI showed the importance of evaluating AI to ensure that algorithms are as fair as possible. This helps users gain trust while complying with the European value system.
AI will run Mobility, Industry 4.0, and Energy Sector: Nora Dörr (VDE Knowhow and Innovation Management) showed how AI can transform wide areas of mobility. Already today, a growing number of regions are investing in AI in the public mobility sector. The capabilities of mobility AI are becoming more sophisticated. This can be a valuable investment in the future. Dr Jens Gayko (Managing Director of the Standardization Council Industry 4.0 - SCI 4.0) and Alexander Nollau (Head of the Energy Department VDE DKE - German Commission for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies) focused attention on a sustainable and at the same time technological future - with the help of digital tools and AI. Examples were the Digital Product Passport and data-driven solutions for sustainable energy.
