About

Mission

Understanding the interplay of AI algorithms, AI systems, and synergies between artificial and natural intelligence provides the foundation for AI transformation.

Algorithms

for learning, reasoning, seeing, acting, etc.

AI Systems

of interacting algorithms & new hardware.

Synergy

of artificial and natural intelligence.

Transformation

of sciences, society, and industry via AI.

Based on cutting-edge research in the field of Third Wave of AI, hessian.AI’s mission is to bring AI into the mainstream and make it not only accessible but also understandable for research, industry and society, in order to consider opportunities and risks in equal measure.

The Third Wave of AI

Most of AI in use today falls under the categories of the first two waves of AI research. First wave AIs follow clear rules, written by people, aiming to cover every eventuality. Second wave AIs are the kind that use statistical learning to arrive at an answer for a certain type of problem—think of image recognition systems. We envisions a future in which machines are more than just tools that execute human-programmed rules or generalize from human-curated data sets. Rather, the machines we envision will function more as colleagues than as tools.

AI systems of this third wave of AI can acquire human-like communication and reasoning capabilities, with the ability to recognize new situations and to adapt to them. For example, a third wave AI might note that a speed limit of 120 km/h does not make sense when entering a small village.

Rethinking Computer Science through AI

To realize the third wave of AI, we push Systems AI — the systemic view on AI that captures, understands and utilizes the interaction of individual AI algorithms as building blocks for a complete, complex AI system in a mathematical and computationally sound way. This requires to rethink computer science through AI, from hardware, over database systems, to programming and software engineering.

This is combined with our active work on human learning and reasoning. These two programs are inseparable: bringing machine-learning algorithms closer to the capacities of human learning should lead to more powerful AI systems as well as more powerful theoretical paradigms for understanding human cognition.

Democratization of AI

hessian.AI is a center with a forward-looking and internationally competitive research profile and a future-oriented research agenda. The guiding scientific goal is to establish the third wave of AI – novel AI systems that have human-like communication and thinking capabilities, recognize new situations, and adapt to them autonomously. The research requires a triad of AI algorithms, AI systems, and the synergy between natural and artificial intelligence.

AI has been very difficult to develop and can only be done by large and highly specialized teams. Democratizing AI will enable software developers to develop robust, secure, and efficient AI systems. This means making access to AI and AI systems easier and cheaper to encourage transfer and participation.

hessian.AI is intended to contribute to the strengthening and long-term expansion of the AI innovation ecosystem in Hesse, which already exists at its core, and to act as a point of attraction for companies, talent, investors and users, as well as an incubator for startups and innovations.