Reception of the Hessian Consular Corps at TU Darmstadt’s Wissenschaftsschloss: Insights into the Future of AI
TU Darmstadt welcomed the Hessian Consular Corps to the so-called “Wissenschaftsschloss” on September 3. Around 90 international consuls took part in the event, which included scientific lectures and presentations on artificial intelligence (AI) as well as a tour of the castle.
“The fabulous world of AI”
After the welcome by TU President Professor Tanja Brühl, Chancellor Dr. Martin Lommel and Chief Communication Officer Dr. Patrick Honecker, TU professors and co-directors of the Hessian Center for Artificial Intelligence (hessian.AI) Mira Mezini and Kristian Kersting gave an insight into AI research at the TU and in hessian.AI.
In her lecture “The fabulous world of artificial intelligence”, Prof. Mira Mezini, head of the Software Engineering department, covered the arc from the early developments of AI to today’s advances. She shed light on current research issues and discussed the social opportunities and challenges associated with artificial intelligence.
Prof. Kristian Kersting, Head of the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, presented the “Reasonable Artificial Intelligence” (RAI) research project, which is competing for a Cluster of Excellence as part of the renowned Excellence Strategy. The aim of RAI is to develop a new generation of AI systems that are characterized by efficient use of resources, high data protection and continuous optimization. TU Darmstadt is represented with a total of three projects in the federal and state competition.
Afterwards, several information stations offered insights into the work of hessian.AI and three AI start-ups. hessian.AI presented the AI innovation lab with a product demonstration. At the same time, founders presented their start-ups, which represent the dynamic AI innovation ecosystem in Darmstadt, the Rhine-Main metropolitan region and Hesse. These include Bird Mapper, which develops tools for the autonomous recording of bird calls and thus the measurement of bird populations – an important contribution to the preservation of biodiversity. The successful start-up Energy Robotics offers autonomous robots for specialized maintenance work on industrial plants, while Summetix uses deep learning to analyze data, such as customer feedback, and thus provides valuable insights for quality assurance and product development.
The event concluded with a guided tour of the Wissenschaftsschloss, during which the guests visited the restored organ hall and a lavishly converted former magazine floor.
The Hessian Consular Corps comprises around 130 professional and honorary consular representations. In contrast to embassies, these do not represent the diplomatic interests of a state, but rather the administration of a country. The delegation was led by Ministerialdirigent Dieter Beine, Head of Protocol in the Hessian State Chancellery
Photo: TU Darmstadt/Klaus Mai
