Artificial intelligence or AI for short
is the technology of the future.
Therefore we already have to establish
reliable rules for its use in tomorrow's
world today. Because AI is already
accompanying us in our everyday lives
and is taking over a growing number of
our tasks many experts see it still at
the beginning of its development AI has
to learn how it can solve problems and
correct errors. Maybe it won't always get
things right. But it will continue to
evolve. Artificial intelligence has many
advantages: autonomous cars bring us
through traffic safely and with
foresight virtual assistants often
simplify our everyday lives, intelligent
systems tell us which routes are most
suitable for fibre network expansion and
in future AI will help us diagnose and
cure diseases. Nevertheless we must be
aware that this technology can bring
disadvantages. It relieves us of many
decisions but which criteria are its
decisions based upon. Artificial
intelligence is particularly good at
recognizing in interpreting pictures. But
is it familiar with the whole range? So
that nobody is unintentionally excluded.
It also helps when recruiting new staff.
But what if it analyzes data in a biased
manner and only selects certain
characteristics? And how sensible is it
to have our loved ones supervised by AI
even though this may endanger their
privacy? In extreme cases it could
influence our perception and present us
with false information as truth. The
examples clearly show that digital
ethics concerns us all. That's why it's
important for us to promote a
responsible approach to artificial
intelligence. After all Deutsche Telekom
is not only Europe's largest
telecommunications provider but also the
one people trust most. That's why we
brought digital ethics to life. Our focus
is on the human interaction with AI from
which we would like to develop general
principles. The digital ethics guidelines
emerged from our intensive discussions.
They helps to comply with an ethical
framework in AI projects. Our guidelines
are based on several principles.
Responsibility. We develop technologies
that we personally stand behind. Explain
ability. We define and explain our
processes and AI systems with
transparency. Self-determination. We
protect our customers from manipulation
and influence. Bias avoidance. We ensure
that our a AI systems do not
discriminate against anyone. Data privacy
and Information security. We analyze and
eliminate the weak points of our AI
systemsW. e have taken a decisive step
with the publication of our digital
ethics guidelines. But this is just the
beginning. With the Digital Ethics Center,
we have created a place in the heart of
Berlin for international societal
exchange on the subject of artificial
intelligence. We have trained our
employees and checked internal processes
and projects for the compatibility with
our guidelines. Numerous journals and
trade magazines have already reported on
our initiative. And many companies and
organizations have since expressed an
interesting working together with us on
the responsible use of AI. Artificial
intelligence still holds a lot of
potential. And we are already looking
forward to working with you to create a
safe and exciting world for the
generations of tomorrow.
