The National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos (NCSR Demokritos) and the IEEE Standards Association announced their collaboration for the promotion of ethics in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the certification of AI systems.
The goal of this collaboration is to design and implement synergies and actions related to the implementation of IEEE certification schemes for AI systems, as well as to the co-creation of views and knowledge exchange in areas of common interest, such as AI’s human centricity, democratic access and control, and socio-technical sustainability of systems, based on data and machine learning algorithms.
The Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications (IIT) and more specifically, ahedd DIH will contribute to this partnership through the design and implementation of AI and Data Science trainings, the AI systems evaluation procedures for IIT projects and the design of seminars for IIT’s MSc graduates in AI and Data Science.
The launch ceremony took place at NCSR Demokritos premises in Agia Paraskevi, where George Nounesis, Director & Chairman of the Board, Vangelis Karkaletsis, Director of IIT, at NCSR Demokritos and Konstantinos Karachalios, Managing Director of the IEEE Standards Association, and a member of the IEEE Management Council signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organisations. The Deputy Minister of Research & Technology, Christos Dimas and the Secretary General of General Secretariat of Research and Innovation (GSRI), Athanasios Kyriazis were also present. George Giannakopoulos, ahedd DIH and Alexandros Nousias, Ethics Officer at IIT attended the launch ceremony, as they will be involved in the design and implementation of the related actions.
About IEEE Standards Association
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standards Association (IEEE) is the world’s largest professional organisation for the advancement of technology and innovation. IEEE SA is an operating unit within IEEE that develops global standards in a broad range of industries, including: power and energy, artificial intelligence systems, internet of things, consumer technology and consumer electronics, biomedical and health care, learning technology, information technology and robotics, telecommunication and home automation, automotive, transportation, home automation, nanotechnology, information assurance, emerging technologies, and many more. IEEE SA has developed standards for over a century, through a program that offers balance, openness, fair procedures, and consensus. Technical experts from all over the world participate in the development of IEEE standards.
Application Design & Development Team
"Demokritos is a dynamic participant in scientific progress and the rapid technological development of autonomous systems and AI algorithms. The Greek society and national economy will benefit enormously from this technological transformation. We at Demokritos, will participate dynamically equally in the public debate on the ethical challenges aimed at preserving the human-centred character of new technologies. We are excited about the horizons that the partnership with the IEEE opens up precisely in this direction and we look forward to transferring the new knowledge and the results of this cooperation to the Greek State".>
"The regulatory framework proposed by the European Commission for AI makes it necessary to be able to assess the quality of certain such algorithmic systems. This is precisely the problem solved for designers and users by the IEEE CertifAIEd system developed by the international non-profit organisation IEEE. A system that has already been tested in practice by the City of Vienna. The envisaged collaboration between Demokritos and IEEE will provide the Demokritos team of experts with the necessary know-how to put this method into practice. A similar agreement has been signed between IEEE and the French Ministry of Industry".>
"The democratic nature of both access to and control of AI systems, as well as the design and implementation of such systems, makes it absolutely necessary to create and implement certification procedures and tools for ethical, reliable and democratic AI. For this reason, we have designed relevant seminars in our Institute for graduate programs as well as for the AI and Data Science training programs and have initiated AI systems evaluation procedures for projects we undertake. Our collaboration with the IEEE will significantly enhance our expertise, thereby also contributing to the implementation of the National AI Strategy in the design of which we have played a central role".>