Host Rasmus Cloes speaks with Prof. Dr. Tanja Schulz and Dr. Monika Michaelis. Together with others, they brought the IJCAI (International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence)—one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious AI conferences, founded in 1969—to Bremen. After about four and a half years of preparation, the conference is returning to Germany for the first time in 43 years.
Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 researchers from around the world are expected to attend, two-thirds of whom are doctoral students. The main conference itself is aimed at a specialized audience. Alongside the conference, the “Summer of AI” offers an extensive program for the interested public: a public panel on AI agent systems featuring speakers from Google, a lecture on AI ethics by Australian researcher Toby Walsh at the Bremen City Parliament, AI lounges on Domshof focusing on the world of work, trust in the media, and education, as well as hands-on stations for high school students and apprentices.
In this conversation, Schulz and Michaelis explain what AI agent systems actually are, why ethical guidelines for autonomously exploring AI systems remain an open research question, and why Germany’s strict data regulations—as restrictive as they may sometimes seem—could become a competitive advantage in the long term. Another topic is the European Health Data Space and the “Biosignals HUB” currently being developed in Bremen, which collects biosignals from volunteer citizens. And: why wind power and open spaces could make Bremen an attractive location for data centers.
A personal concern of Tanja Schulz’s: In her view, AI needs “senses” for humans—a sense of empathy, attentiveness, or danger—to truly understand what people need. Finally, the discussion turns to the big questions: Is Germany falling behind the U.S. and China? Should there be a speed limit on AI development? And will artificial intelligence ultimately create more jobs than it eliminates?
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