Center for Responsible Artificial Intelligence (CRAI)

The Coburg University Research Center for Responsible Artificial Intelligence (CRAI), as a research institute of Coburg University of Applied Sciences, is committed to interdisciplinary and applied AI research that takes ethical aspects into account (“responsible AI”). It pursues interdisciplinary and application-oriented research in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) with a holistic perspective. It bundles the diverse research activities of AI researchers at Coburg University of Applied Sciences and develops an independent research profile in order to achieve excellence in applied AI research.

The CRAI also aims to act as an institution that brings AI closer to companies in the region and makes them more competitive through holistic approaches that take into account technical, business, legal, social and other aspects.

Prof. Dr. Mirko Kraft

The CRAI supports AI researchers at Coburg University of Applied Sciences in gaining access to AI computing resources and operates research laboratories in the HTAplus modular building, among other places. While CRAI laboratories are physically located in the HTAplus modular building on the freight depot site, AI research activities are spread across the Coburg – Kronach – Lichtenfels innovation triangle. Internally and externally, it forms a platform for AI networks in the region in line with Coburg University of Applied Sciences’ strategy. Researchers from all faculties also contribute their subject-specific AI activities (e.g. on autonomous driving and sensor technology) and substantially expand the CRAI’s expertise.

The unique selling point of the CRAI is the balance between technical and ethical-social competencies in order to ensure that technical innovations that are researched and developed also contribute to changing the world in a direction in which we as citizens want to live. It does not do justice to the research and technology field of artificial intelligence (AI) to view it from just one perspective, in particular from an exclusively methodological computer science perspective or a purely economic perspective. Social, ethical and regulatory aspects must always be considered in order to ensure the sustainable and responsible use of AI. More and more companies in Germany are actively using AI, even beyond automation, to expand their business models. The CRAI positions itself as a link between research and practice in order to address both IT and technical as well as social and ethical issues. The CRAI provides technical methods and tools (“AI methods”) that are used and further developed in many disciplines. In addition, economic, social science and humanities expertise is brought in to make use cases economically viable, ecologically and socially sustainable and ethical. Two AI professorships acquired in the AI competition (High-Tech-Agenda Bayern) are examples of this, namely the

• Professorship for Explainable and Responsible Artificial Intelligence in Insurance(Faculty of Business Administration and Economics) and the
• Professorship for Artificial Intelligence and Data Stream Mining(Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science).