Meeting AI experts in the USA: Prof. Dr. Lucie Flek on delegation trip
A visit to Stanford University, Microsoft and Google – Professor Dr. Lucie Flek, Professor of Data Science & Language Technologies at b-it, accompanied NRW Minister President Hendrik Wüst on a delegation trip to the USA.
Prof. Dr Lucie Flek, Professor of Data Science & Language Technologies at the Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology (b-it), accompanied NRW Minister President Hendrik Wüst on his trip to the United States of America, which lasted several days. She was part of the delegation consisting of business and science representatives, representatives from the film and media industry, the judiciary, and representatives from the aerospace industry. The trip focussed on the topics of security policy and Artificial Intelligence (AI). In addition to exchanging ideas with renowned and leading AI innovation drivers, the aim of the trip was to present the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as a leading digital region in Germany and Europe.
From 14 to 19 April, the tour group made numerous stops at technological and scientific innovation locations along the west coast of the USA. With regard to the topic of AI, these included visits to Microsoft in Seattle and Google in Silicon Valley. A special highlight of the trip was the visit to Stanford University. The host there was a familiar face to b-it: Professor Oussama Khatib, Director of the Stanford Robotics Lab and long-standing member of the b-it Advisory Board, warmly welcomed the delegation and presented his work. On site, Prof. Dr. Flek also gave an invited lecture on "Perspective Taking with Large Language Models" in the university's Natural Language Processing group.
Flek on challenges in AI development and global cooperation
Memorable moments of the trip included the international symposium "Transatlantic AI Symposium: Europe's Heartbeat of Innovation" in San Francisco. There, Prime Minister Wüst gave a keynote speech and advocated a values alliance for artificial intelligence. Prof. Dr. Lucie Flek also took part in the event as a special guest. She works as Professor of Data Science & Language Technologies at b-it at the University of Bonn and is also Area Chair for Natural Learning Processing and Principal Investigator at the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. She said: "The acceleration of progress in the field of AI has opened up incredible new opportunities in research. But we also face new fundamental systems challenges. Tackling the scale and complexity of modern AI systems will require an unprecedented level of global collaboration and coordination. With the establishment of the Lamarr Institute, I as a researcher in North Rhine-Westphalia now have not only a unique infrastructure, but also outstanding collaborative opportunities with other leading researchers in the US and around the world to tackle these challenges in a collaborative, responsible, transparent, secure and coordinated way."[1]
[1] More information in the press release: https://www.land.nrw/pressemitteilung/ministerpraesident-wuest-im-silicon-valley-wir-brauchen-eine-werte-allianz-fuer