Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann has already had surprising private experiences with artificial intelligence (AI). “The great thing is yes and the scary thing: this machine knows us after a short time,” said the 74-year-old on Saturday at a debate on AI and ethics at the Catholic Day in Stuttgart. For example, he likes to watch operas on the YouTube video platform. “And he already knows what I like better and where my taste lies,” said Kretschmann. “And then he’s so nifty because he probably figured out I’m a man, because every once in a while porn comes up. And I guess now what is that?”

By no means the only experience, Kretschmann reports. “If you watch Wagner operas, the AfD also comes in between.” These are such manipulative things that you wonder how the machine knows now.

Nevertheless, it is important, like Baden-Württemberg, to take part in research on self-learning machines as early as possible and to position yourself as a pacesetter in the field of machine learning. “I believe that if you don’t cook, you’ll end up on the menu,” said Kretschmann. In the end, it can only be operated in a way that corresponds to the ideas of a democratic society if you help run it yourself.

Among other things, AI is used in autonomously driving cars, chatbots, translation programs, but also for purchase suggestions in online shops. Experts also see risks from AI, the extent of which is difficult to assess. These include the replacement of human labor or ethical issues. The term artificial intelligence was coined by a US computer scientist in the 1950s. Artificial intelligence can often be better translated as artificial intelligence. In Baden-Württemberg, the “Cyber ??Valley” research association between Stuttgart and Tübingen, in which companies and institutes are involved, has been in existence for five and a half years. In addition, research on AI is being carried out at several locations in the southwest.