"Artificial Intelligence Meets Classroom"

Kassel. As a prelude to her summer trip, Hesse's Digital Minister Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus today visited the Scientific Center for Information Technology Design in Kassel and learned about the international research project 'AI Forensics'. The aim of the project, which is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, is to provide citizens with technical means to independently track and verify the decisions made by an AI in a facial recognition process. Users can upload an image and automatic examination will check where and for what purpose the image is used. In this way, general security can be combined with protection against encroachment on personal rights. The minister was welcomed by University President Prof. Dr. Ute Clement, and she held talks with, among others, Prof. Dr. Claude Draude, head of the Gender/Diversity in Computer Science Systems (GeDiS) department at the University of Kassel's Department of Electrical Engineering/Computer Science, and Prof. Dr. Klaus David (head of ComTec).

"Artificial intelligence is a key technology of the 21st century. We want to take advantage of the momentum and develop Hessen into a leading location for AI innovations and AI applications: 'AI made in Hessen' should become a trademark of our state that stands for innovation, responsibility and the future. To this end, we have also launched our own AI future agenda across ministries, and all information is available at www.ki-hessen.de," the digital minister emphasized.

On her second stop, she visited the FutureSpace summer camp in Kassel, where young people can deepen their interests together and start their own research projects under guidance. Learning opportunities for school classes and courses will also be highlighted. The FutureSpace is a non-profit organization that supports young people in their education and strengthens their skills and talents.

During the visit, the minister also learned about the Schülerforschungszentrum Nordhessen, where students from schools in northern Hesse from grades 5 to 13 conduct research in teams and carry out their own experiments and projects from all STEM fields. They are supervised by students from the University of Kassel, teachers and trainee teachers from various schools in northern Hesse. "Our common goal is to enable schools to introduce all students to the digital world and fully prepare them for working life." The Schülerforschungszentrum Nordhessen (SFN) is a cooperative project between the University of Kassel, the city and district of Kassel, and the state of Hesse.

The minister added that as of July 2022, 81 percent and thus 1,616 of the total of 2,005 schools in Hesse were currently connected with gigabit capability. The city of Kassel has already connected all publicly funded schools to the high-speed network, she said. "We will achieve our goal and connect almost all public schools to the network by the end of 2022. In 2019, we started with 609 connected schools, and we have connected more than 1,000 additional schools to the fast network in the past three years," Sinemus emphasized.