IJCAI Comes to Bremen: What One of the World’s Most Important AI Conferences Means for the City

New Podcast Episode – 056 with Prof. Dr. Tanja Schulz and Dr. Monika Michaelis

Host

Rasmus Cloes speaks with Prof. Dr. Tanja Schulz and Dr. Monika

Michaelis. Together with others, the two have brought the IJCAI

(International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence)—one of the

oldest and most prestigious AI conferences in the world, founded in 1969—

to Bremen. After about four and a half years of preparation, the

conference is returning to Germany for the first time in 43 years.

Approximately

2,000 to 3,000 researchers from around the world are expected, two-thirds

of whom are doctoral students. The main conference itself is aimed

at a specialized audience. Alongside it, the “Summer of AI” will feature a

comprehensive program for the interested public: a

public panel on AI agent systems with speakers from Google,

a lecture on AI ethics by Australian researcher Toby Walsh at the

Bremen State Parliament, AI lounges on the Domshof focusing on the world of work,

 

media trust, and education, as well as hands-on stations for students and

trainees.

In this interview, Schulz and Michaelis explain what

AI agent systems actually are, why ethical guidelines for

autonomously exploring AI systems remain an open research question, and

why Germany’s strict data regulations—as restrictive as they

sometimes seem—could become a competitive advantage in the long term. Another

topic is the European Health Data Space and the “Biosignals-HUB” currently being developed in Bremen

, which collects biosignals from volunteer citizens

. And: Why wind power and open spaces could make Bremen an

attractive location for data centers.

A

personal concern of Tanja Schulz: In her view, AI needs

“senses” for humans—a sense of empathy, attentiveness, or

danger—to truly understand what people need. Finally,

we tackle the big questions: Is Germany falling behind the

U.S. and China? Do we need to set a speed limit on AI development? And

will artificial intelligence ultimately really create more jobs than it

eliminates?

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