• 12/4/2019
  • Reading time 2 min.

New institute opened for secure artificial intelligence

Expanded artificial intelligence research under TUM leadership

The secure use of artificial intelligence (AI) is a key issue in research and practical applications. The new Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive System, now opened in Munich, will study how AI applications can interact safely with people. To facilitate its work, the State of Bavaria has announced six new research chairs, including four at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Two TUM professors will take on the leadership of the institute.

Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann, President of TUM a the opening ceremony for the Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive Systems. Amory Salzmann / IKS
TUM and Fraunhofer Society joining forces was a major step in making Munich a leading international innovation hub of the future, said TUM President Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive Systems is a central element in the Bavarian competency network in artificial machine intelligence. In a government declaration in October, Minister President Dr. Markus Söder announced his priority program to promote AI with total investments of 360 million euros. The initiative, in which TUM will take on a key role, will be centered around the Munich region, with the priority area "intelligent robotics".

 With such institutions as the Munich School of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MSRM) and the Munich Data Science Institute (MDSI), with their research in the fields of machine learning and data science, TUM has a particularly strong presence in the core areas of artificial intelligence. Minister President Söder plans to establish an "AI Mission Institute" that will emerge from the MSRM and combine research and entrepreneurial activities. TUM also has an important role to play in establishing the Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive Systems. Four chairs jointly filled by TUM and the Fraunhofer Society will promote fundamental and application-based research. Combined with the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security (AISEC), headed by TUM professors Claudia Eckert and Georg Sigl, this will establish a hotbed for AI research in Bavaria.

Joining Forces

TUM President Thomas F. Hofmann was among the guests of honor at the opening of the new institute, along with Minister President Dr. Markus Söder, Minister of State Hubert Aiwanger and Prof. Reimund Neugebauer, the president of the Fraunhofer Society. Prof. Hofmann highlighted the significance of the cooperation: “The Munich region, with its unique ecosystem covering all aspects of AI and robotics, is among the global leaders in this area. In implementing our ONE MUNICH strategy as a core element of TUM Agenda 2030, we are now joining forces with the Fraunhofer Society to pool our strengths as we embark on the road toward making Munich a leading international innovation hub of the future.”

 

Technical University of Munich

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