At the #Think Tank “Responsible Innovation 4.0 & Artificial Intelligence” experts discussed how to put Responsible Innovation in the era of digitalization into practice. The event was organized by respACT, Austria’s leading platform for CSR and Sustainable Development, and the Institute for Managing Sustainability in cooperation with DER STANDARD and supported by the Federal Ministry of Digital and Economic Affairs .

At the #Think Tank, high-ranking representatives from research, business and politics were engaged in a panel discussion about corporate responsibilities throughout the innovation process in high-tech sectors. Digital innovations such as Artificial Intelligence raise debates about practical, technical and ethical issues.

Bernd Stahl, Director of the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility at De Montfort University, gave a captivating keynote concerning ethical and societal challenges in the context of Artificial Intelligence.

As part of a panel discussion, Bernd Stahl, André Martinuzzi (Head of the Institute for Managing Sustainability), Andreas Tschas (Head of Digitalisierungsagentur) and Harald Leitenmüller (Chief Technology Manager at Microsoft Austria) debated opportunities and risks of Artificial Intelligence.

André Martinuzzi pointed out that digital innovations have impacts on health systems, the education system, politics and everyday life and highlighted the need for a systematic implementation of Responsible Innovation. Harald Leitmüller emphasized the ethical responsibility in corporate innovation processes and stressed, that corporations should not only care for technological possibilities but also ethical standards. Andreas Tschas pointed out that values and respect play a fundamental role in designing Artificial Intelligence. It is therefore crucial, according to him, to integrate Responsible Innovation into education in order to guarantee ethical standards for Artificial Intelligence.

The panel discussion within the #Think Tank was an ideal opportunity to establish a dialogue about the societal challenges that corporations are concerned with in the context of Artificial Intelligence. Other #Think Tank events are planned for 2019.