No. 114/2022

pleased when my former staff and students get opportunities like that. On the other hand, it is problematic when our top talents find working conditions in industry that are much more attractive than anything we can offer at universities. What are the consequences? Of course, it’s great when cutting-edge research is done by industry, too. But if the main focus is there, we have a problem, because in business, of course, special attention is always directed to short-term results. The role of universities, on the other hand, is to look more to the long-term and take far greater account of what is socially relevant. This is also one of the reasons why I and others like me enjoy being at universities, even if the general conditions in industry are tempting, not to mention the salary. In what way? The availability of large amounts of good data, for example, or big computing capaci- ties. If you work at Google or DeepMind, for instance, you are also surrounded by a load of other really good people in your own field. Of course, this is true in a research group like mine at university, too, but on a completely different scale. Then again, what makes uni- versity research so attractive to many is the focus on solutions for the common good, such as human-centred AI. Europe and the German government also support this approach. In terms of inter- national competition, could this become a hallmark of AI development in Germany and Europe, and a locational advantage? There are also important centres in the United States that are now committed to human-­ centred AI. But I think there is a critical mass here in Europe and major commitment to this direction. And that is pretty unique in the world. Location pessimists say that Europe has long been left behind by the AI industry in the United States and China ... There are also positive examples, such as the translation software DeepL. But in gen- eral, Europe isn’t doing enough to realise the ambitions formulated by the European Commission, for example. There is a huge gap. And that’s why I invest a considerable portion of my energy in creating awareness and com- ing up with ideas on how we can deal with this unsatisfactory state of affairs. What do you suggest? I’ve spent 20 years of my scientific career in Canada. There, they have managed to become an AI superpower with relatively modest investment. And they’ve done it by channelling a large share of their investment into basic research and universities, deliberately not into industry. In AI, basic research is often If you want to have GLOBAL APPEAL, you need a beacon that is really big and bright. Photo: Humboldt Foundation/Elbmotion FOCUS 22 HUMBOLDT KOSMOS 114/2022