How can Artificial Intelligence (AI) be used for the common good? This is the question being explored by our Civic Innovation Platform and the “AI is what we make it” idea contest. On 10 March, Federal Minister Hubertus Heil announced awards for 25 project teams from the first competition round.

We were particularly impressed by the diversity of the award-winning approaches. The ideas covered everything! There were those on improving the working world and on co-determination, participation, and inclusion right through to those on learning about AI technologies, further education, and lifelong learning. In addition to assistance and advice, the winning teams are receiving prize money of up to 20,000 euros to develop their project ideas further.

We congratulate all the project teams and are particularly pleased by the message that comes with these ideas. As Hubertus Heil put it when he announced the awards: “What this society needs is realistic confidence that we can achieve positive changes with technology.” We will be presenting the ideas and the teams behind them in detail at civic-innovation.de shortly.

Stakeholder dialogue on platform work

Speaking of positive changes, we would also like to mention a virtual conference taking place on 19 April, which we warmly invite you to attend. Under the motto “Gig, crowd, and cloud – secure work and fair competition? The BMAS #platformsummit”, we would like to discuss with you ways in which we can in future make platform work fairer and do this on a cross-border basis. No matter whether it’s food deliveries, ride-hailing services, programming work, or text work, the fact is that digital platforms are booming. So, there’s no shortage of subject matter to discuss with you on 19 April! The key issues paper tabled in November 2020 will be providing the framework for various panels with Federal Minister Hubertus Heil and experts from Germany and the EU.

New developments and practical AI applications

In addition, we will be reporting on further new developments in the AI world, such as a new project as part of the AI strategy. This project entails operational spaces for AI learning and experimentation and is entering the practical implementation stage. Around 50 companies from different sectors – from the trades to nursing care and mechanical engineering – are participating alongside numerous universities and research institutes.

In an interview, Anika Krellmann, from Kommunale Gemeinschaftsstelle für Verwaltungsmanagement (KGSt) and a cooperation partner of the Civic Innovation Platform, will be reporting on the potential offered by AI for municipalities and what she hopes for the administration of the future.

And last but not least, a new study as part of the OECD’s AI-WIPS programme offers valuable findings on AI skills in job advertisements.

We wish you pleasant reading!
The Policy Lab Team