Artificial intelligence is a highly potent technology for a vast range of applications. Researchers at Ulm University use AI methods across many disciplines and for various purposes. They develop AI-generated customer service chatbots or automated financial portfolio management systems, for example. Others take a closer look at the topic of legal tech and the opportunities and limitations of machine-readable laws. In the field of life sciences, researchers use AI to decode gene regulatory networks or to automate the diagnosis and prognosis of diseases and potential complications with the help of medical imaging technologies.
One of the main research areas at Ulm University that has been focusing on artificial intelligence for many years is highly automated and networked driving, where teams of scientists develop and perfect self-driving, cooperative vehicles that can cope with complex traffic situations in inner-city traffic. They use neural networks and deep learning methods to predict the movements of other road users and to plan driving manoeuvres in a calculated and automated way.
Learning-based AI forms, such as deep learning or machine learning, make it possible to extract information from an enormous amount of data and then identify patterns, derive rules and make automated decisions. Another branch of AI is knowledge-based and relies on logic and semantic relationships. Researchers at the Institute of Artificial Intelligence, for example, develop cognitive systems that plan intelligent actions based on automated reasoning.
The use of AI, however, does not only open up exciting new opportunities – it also comes with some serious risks. Scientists at Ulm University are therefore also dedicated to the field of explainable artificial intelligence (XAI), aiming to make AI-based decision processes more transparent and their results comprehensible to humans. The Department for Learning and Instruction takes a close look at ethical, pedagogical and didactic aspects of the use of AI, exploring questions such as how the rapid technological developments in this area may affect the future of learning in school, and teaching in higher education.
In order to prepare the next generation for the use and advancement of artificial intelligence, Ulm University offers the specialised master’s programme Artificial Intelligence. Students gain sound methodological skills in the realm of informatics and computer science with a focus on learning- and knowledge-based AI. They also develop an understanding of ethical and legal aspects surrounding the use of AI. Graduates of the programme are thus perfectly equipped to deal with this powerful future technology in a responsible and informed manner.
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Picture: Highly automated test vehicles from Ulm University in a turning situation in Ulm city centre (Photo: KO-Fas Research Initiative)
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Contact
Ulm University, Press and Public Relations, Andrea Weber-Tuckermann, Phone: +49 731 50-22024, E-Mail: pressestelle@uni-ulm.de
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Useful links:
Highly automated and networked driving: https://www.uni-ulm.de/en/in/institute-of-measurement-control-and-microtechnology/research/research-topics/autonomous-driving/
Institute of Artificial Intelligence: https://www.uni-ulm.de/en/in/institute-of-artificial-intelligence/
Explainable artificial intelligence: https://www.uni-ulm.de/en/mawi/iba/research/research-areas-of-the-professorship-of-business-information-management/explainable-artificial-intelligence/
Department for Learning and Instruction: https://www.uni-ulm.de/en/in/psy-llf/
Master’s programme Artificial Intelligence: https://www.uni-ulm.de/en/study/study-at-ulm-university/study-programmes/course-information/course/kuenstliche-intelligenz-master/
