PILLAR 2

Creating transparent
quality and testing
standards

In order to create planning security in the development of AI applications and to strengthen confidence in the use of AI applications, we need transparent and uniform AI quality and testing standards in line with European values and taking into account the requirements of the AI Act.

Background: AI Act and conformity assessment

Companies are obliged to assess their AI systems and the associated risk at the latest when the AI Act comes into force. Through a suitable conformity assessment, companies must prove that the requirements for trustworthy AI are met.

Voluntary AI quality standard

In cooperation with leading testing and standardisation institutions, MISSION KI is developing and testing a voluntary AI quality standard that represents a minimum standard of AI quality for specific applications. The AI quality standard consists of criteria (e.g. for trustworthy AI) as well as test procedures and test methods. Dimensions of the quality standard are, for example, transparency, reliability, fairness, data protection and management, and cybersecurity.

Norms and standards should help to ensure that AI systems are trustworthy, safe, inclusive and sustainable. They define the safety requirements that AI systems must fulfil before they come onto the market – for example in terms of transparency, accuracy, explainability or quality.

The voluntary AI quality and testing standard is being developed in four work packages:

PACKAGE 1

Selection of suitable use cases

The first step is to identify real AI systems as use cases that offer broad sectoral and horizontal coverage.

PACKAGE 2

Conception and development of the AI test procedure

At the same time, a comprehensive test procedure including test criteria, various test depths, technical test methods and an evaluation scheme is being developed.

PACKAGE 3

Testing and further development of the AI test procedure

In order to establish the test procedure in the long term and to gather experience at an early stage, which will enable it to be refined, it is being trialled on the basis of use cases.

PACKAGE 4

Establishment of a voluntary quality standard

From 2025, the consolidation of the test procedure and the voluntary quality promise for AI applications will be driven forward by anchoring it in committees and standards.

Focus and use cases

The MISSION KI quality standard focuses on AI applications that are below the high-risk cases (classification according to the European AI Regulation), but its content will also be compatible with the requirements of the AI Regulation for high-risk AI applications. In order to develop a marketable AI quality and testing standard, a use case-based procedure will be used for testing. For this purpose, use cases are currently being identified that offer broad sectoral and horizontal coverage. In order to account for the further development of AI applications and the associated, potentially increasing risk, high-risk AI applications are also included

Objective and outlook

The conformity assessment bodies can implement the test standards in their independent certifications. This makes an important contribution to ensuring that users can trust AI systems and use them with confidence. This strengthens the marketability of AI applications and thus the competitiveness of German companies.

Our partners

For this project, MISSION KI is pooling the expertise of leading testing and standardisation institutes:

INNOVATION & QUALITY CENTRES

MISSION KI is building innovation and quality centres that create a testing and experience environment for trustworthy AI. The first centres are located in Berlin and Kaiserslautern. The AI centre in Berlin is aimed at anyone who wants to find out more about AI and try out applications. It will be a place to meet and engage in dialogue about how AI should be used and within what limits. In Kaiserslautern, MISSION KI wants to create a contact point for founders, start-ups, SMEs and large companies that want to transfer AI from research to application. The AI Centre Kaiserslautern gives them access to cutting-edge research and AI testing environments – thanks to a cooperation with the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), which is based there.

News

News

The MISSION KI initiative, aimed at promoting AI development in Germany, brought together 13 AI startups with 10 medium-sized companies from Baden-Württemberg on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, at the experimenta Science Center in Heilbronn.This was the successful start to the matchmaking format, through which the initiative, funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV), seeks to connect SMEs with AI startups at various locations in Germany. MISSION KI was supported at the event by regional partners appliedAI Institute for Europe, Technologiepark Heidelberg, and IPAI.

News

On Friday, July 19, 2024, Federal Minister of Digital Affairs Dr. Volker Wissing and Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of Economic Affairs Daniela Schmitt opened a new Center for Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in Kaiserslautern. The AI Innovation and Quality Center is part of the "MISSION KI" initiative and the first of two planned centers in Germany with which the federal government is promoting the use of trustworthy AI.

News

For medium-sized companies, identifying their AI needs, selecting providers, and implementing solutions ties up time and resources. This is precisely where a joint project by MISSION KI, the appliedAI Institute for Europe, Heidelberg Technology Park, and IPAI can be of assistance: In three steps, medium-sized companies are guided through the process of developing tailor-made AI projects.

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