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Wednesday, 01 November 2023

The rise of artificial intelligence marks a groundbreaking chapter of our history. The technology has the potential to enhance our quality of life and to assist us in many ways. But it can also create new dependencies if it is used in a non-transparent or monopolistic manner. It is up to us to find the right way. This is what Dr. Frank Schlottmann, member of the executive board of msg, and Jonas Andrulis, CEO of Aleph Alpha, talk about in this viewpoint interview

Frank Schlottmann: Sovereignty firstly means having freedom of action for all organizations, being able to make decisions. This only works when there are alternatives that we can both understand and evaluate. In terms of strategy, artificial intelligence (AI) is a tool that gives a company a lot of freedom in terms of implementing new business models. For example, new collaborations are possible with companies that were previously not even on the market. In this way, a company can gain competitive advantages or work on its own processes.

Jonas Andrulis: But AI is now opening up whole new dimensions for us, for example data sovereignty. I want to be owner of my own data. I want to prevent anyone else from gaining knowledge of my data without my consent, from benefiting from my data. Then there is operational sovereignty: Can I still operate my own value creation processes? Many organizations are already in the cloud and have thus lost some operational sovereignty as a result. Another dimension I call algorithmic sovereignty. A system has particular functional mappings, but who is to decide how they are designed? And last but not least, there is sovereignty in value creation. How can control these values that are created by new technology? Who can appropriate them? Am I myself capable of being able to claim the value creation from my data with my ideas?

Frank Schlottmann: We see in companies and also public organizations that a change process is taking place. The topic of artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important because of the availability of data and the ability to process large amounts of data. Meanwhile, large organizations such as companies are getting professional assistance and represent a certain idea from the outset. Where in the value chain do we want to intervene with the systems we now have at our disposal? A great deal has happened in the last two years. 

Jonas Andrulis: The environment in which we operate is often decisive. The financial sector, for example, is heavily regulated. There, we need to make the results auditable. We can't just refer to AI results and no one can audit them. Even if AI gets much better, only humans can ever take responsibility. So we need to design the systems in such a way that we enable humans to be able to take responsibility. That's a different design principle than, say, a chatbot.

Frank Schlottmann: Two or three years ago, there was a wave on the topic of digital sovereignty. Considered in undifferentiated terms, one would not have to expand the concept at that time, because at that time the focus was already on the question: Who controls technology? How transparent is it to the recipients what this technology does? Who derives the benefit from it? For us, it's important to give companies or government institutions the ability to decide for themselves what kind of generative AI and models behind it should be used. Especially in that context, it's nice to have European models available in addition to the widespread models from the U.S. or China. Aleph Alpha is particularly exciting here because it is even a German company that has developed and provides such models on European data. This gives an important decision-making alternative in this sovereignty context.

Frank Schlottmann: A lot is happening. Just in the last 12 to 18 months, we've seen a significant change. We see innovations the areas like micro-electronic or quantum computing. But there is still room for improvement, especially in the area of AI, where we could do a lot more.

Jonas Andrulis: We at Aleph Alpha are playing to stay in the league. Not because we underrate ourselves or because we don’t appreciate the location. But because now this topic, which we started in 2019, is number one on the lists of the biggest companies in the world. They say, in essence: This is the topic to dominate; money is not an issue. Even though we're certainly getting more funding now, finding more partners, it's going to be on a different scale than in other countries. In the U.S. and China, people are investing strategically. In this country, we were slower in the past and are slower again now. That worries me.

Jonas Andrulis: This is the first time we've seen basic technology regulated. That's a first. . It's almost as if, after the invention of the computer, we were prompted to regulate every use of computers. And we are doing this from a position where we are not exactly a leader. So I don't think we're doing ourselves any great favors. .But we certainly see it as our responsibility to contribute and are doing our best to create momentum so that the damage to our technology sovereignty is as small as possible.

Frank Schlottmann: Policymakers and regulators are facing a huge challenge. We need to take the threat of AI seriously in the sense that people actually have science fiction movies in their heads. On the other hand, we don't do well to ban technology. I think that we need to set limits that also have to be respected. At the same time, we need to be careful not to pen in technology completely and slam the door on the many benefits to society and organizations. It's a difficult line to walk, but we've already succeeded. For example, robotics has provided a competitive advantage in industrial production. This has involved early adoption of the technology. This has relieved people of completely repetitive tasks, which, by the way, are also unhealthy. And if we can do that with AI, then we will now be able to apply this kind of industrial revolution in other places – such as knowledge work and very mundane organizational processes – and really create value. For that, we need a regulatory framework that allows the freedom to do that.

Jonas Andrulis: In Heidelberg, we are surrounded by many brilliant universities and some of the best AI researchers in the world. That's also typical for Germany, for Europe. We have brilliant research and in the past have often left commercialization to others. By taking advantage of new technical opportunities quickly and courageously ourselves, we can take responsibility. If we let others do it because we are afraid of the risks, then we will not be able to shape things. Then others will decide for us how the technology works.

Frank Schlottmann: Differentiation is a huge challenge. In practice, it's difficult for a class of between 20 and 30 students to adequately reflect people's different levels of learning, different ways of doing things. This is where AI can make a huge contribution because with AI, if used appropriately, you can have people learn in a personalized way. You can automate daily tasks or have tasks adapted to the learning progress. Conversely, this also reduces the workload of teachers. At the same time, AI enables accessible education. Today, I can convert language to audio incredibly well using AI. So there are great opportunities that allow to differentiate and increase speed and, in my opinion, take a lot of pressure off the education system and also enrich it.

Jonas Andrulis: Of course, there is also a shortage of skilled workers in the education system. Here AI can help take over the monotonous part of the work that doesn't require human inspiration or human connection. We also have different requirements for speed, prior knowledge, but also style. Some learn more pictorially or more in complex language. That's where we have the huge advantage that AI now understands humans. Since the invention of the computer, humans have had to learn to speak the computer's language. Now the computer is learning to speak the language of humans.

Jonas Andrulis: If you look at the value created by mankind for the last few years, it looks like linear growth at first. If we zoom out a bit and only look at the last 100 years, we see that the development is not linear. It keeps accelerating. There has always been a kink in function, such as in the industrial revolution, where something fundamentally new happened that allowed us to reach a new level. We have a kink like that again now.

Frank Schlottmann: I think we have already seen such innovations in the past. Most people today have a smartphone. This has taken much longer in penetration than what can be expected in the proliferation of AI in daily life. AI, much like a smartphone, will change the way we take in information, be accessible, work, and also add value. For us as a service and solution provider, it is very nice to be part of this technology-driven process and this method-driven process.