AI Day at the Deutsche Telekom Headquarters celebrated all things in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Stands featured smart products for visitors to experience live and up close. And not one, but two events provided an opportunity to discuss AI and ethics intensively with internal and external experts. The day revealed a high level of interest and need for information.
NimbRo doesn't get starstruck. The diminutive, humanoid, soccer-playing robot built by a team from the University of Bonn stays cool and collected, even when being handed a Bayern Munich jersey in person by Claudia Nemat, Board Member for Technology and Innovation. NimbRo won the RoboCup – the soccer world cup for robots – this year for the second time in a row. The robot was one of seven exhibits on display in the foyer yesterday to help make AI – a subject that still remains very abstract for many – more tangible. From fashion to art, school and sports to network build-out and the living room at home, the stands covered a broad spectrum of areas.
The event, which got under way in the early afternoon, was put on for employees to mark the launch of the Group's internal AI guidelines. Some 70 guests attended the Telekom Design Gallery to talk to moderator and Head of the Design Gallery Stefan Kohn, Head of Compliance Manuela Mackert, Digital Product Manager for Artificial Intelligence at T-Mobile Austria Daniel Krüger, and Managing Director of Initiative D21 Lena-Sophie Müller. "Deutsche Telekom's AI guidelines are trendsetting in the industry," said Lena-Sophie Müller.
AI and ethics: Everything good, or what?
In the evening, a public panel discussion was held with the guiding theme "AI and ethics: Everything good, or what?" Some 300 guests came along to discuss the subject with Board Member Claudia Nemat, Prof. Christian Bauckhage from the University of Bonn, Senior Director of Corporate Research at Nuance Nils Lenke, and robot ethics expert Dr. Janina Loh from the University of Vienna. The discussion itself and the questions from the audience touched on a broad range of areas. For the audience, the underlying focus was on finding out what AI actually is, how security can be assured, and why Deutsche Telekom has introduced AI guidelines.
The panel participants all agreed on two key things: Ethics and morality are not static concepts and cannot be defined for all time. As Loh said: "There will be no solution because there is no problem. Discourse on AI and ethics is everlasting."
With more than enough questions and topics to be addressed, the one-hour panel discussion could have gone on for much longer. Afterwards, many visitors used the opportunity for an informal get-together. It was clear that the focus of the initiative "We need to talk … about digital responsibility" is far from nearing an end.
Impressions of DTs AI Day
Employee event: Manuela Mackert, Head of Compliance, and Stefan Kohn, Head of the Design Gallery, gave insights into the process of developing the AI guidelines and how they are already helping Deutsche Telekom in customer dialogs. Most importantly of all, the guidelines must be developed continually with the help from all areas of the Group. "Deutsche Telekom's strength is its employees," said Manuela Mackert.
The exhibition also revealed where AI is deployed at Deutsche Telekom. Nico Gitzen explained how Deutsche Telekom uses artificial intelligence to help with its fiber-optic rollout planning.
The Magenta Smart Speaker with Deutsche Telekom's very own voice assistant was also on display. Peter Gaida, Michael Torsten Esser, Anke Sturm, and Niels Hafenrichter (l-r) were happy to answer questions. They had around 80 conversations over the course of the day.
At the "Be-greifen" stand, employees from the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) showcased how smart data glasses can help with experiments in physics lessons at schools and universities.
NimbRo and members of the Autonomous Intelligent Systems working group at the University of Bonn in action. The smart robot uses a wide-angle camera to assess the game situation, locate the ball, pitch markings and goal, and orient itself on the pitch. Incidentally, the load-bearing parts of the robot were produced using 3D printing technology.
The Telekom Design Gallery was also represented with two exhibits: Neural art and a smart chessboard. Neural Art – where AI becomes the artist. It takes a smartphone photo and uses an algorithm to modify the photo in the style of a specific artist in real time. Miriam Beljaars and Markus Reuter were kept very busy and must have printed at least 500 photos.
Beating AI on a smart chess board. AI converts the computer's moves onto a real chess board using magnets to move the pieces. It's virtual reality meets the real world.
Smart fashion was also represented: Model Lisa Bärmann and Valentina Ockenfels brought a smart jacket equipped with interactive music technology and the ability to convert background noise into visual graphics.
Full house: Some 300 guests accepted Deutsche Telekom's invitation to debate the topic of "AI and ethics: Everything good, or what?"
On the podium (l-r): Moderator Bettina Weiguny (journalist with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung's Sunday paper), Dr. Nils Lenke (Senior Director of Corporate Research at Nuance), Claudia Nemat (Deutsche Telekom Board Member for Technology and Innovation), Prof. Christian Bauckhage (professor of computer science at the University of Bonn and lead scientist at the Fraunhofer Center for Machine Learning), and Dr. Janina Loh (robot ethics expert, Faculty of Philosophy and Education at the University of Vienna).
DT initiative for Digital Responsibiliy
The AI Day was organized by the Deutsche Telekom initiative for Digital Responsibility, which was set up in 2016 to take social responsibility and stimulate debate on the opportunities and risks inherent in digitalization.
