Inria and DFKI Sign Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in AI

The Aachen Treaty of January 22, 2019, between France and Germany has given new impetus to Franco-German cooperation and also highlighted the partnership in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Within this framework, Inria and DFKI have now agreed to significantly strengthen their cooperation in the field of AI by structuring and formalizing their cooperation. As a result, a Memorandum of Understanding between Inria and DFKI will be signed today.

DFKI and INRIA have developed a common vision for the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence and digital sovereignty in Europe. The close cooperation of both internationally renowned research institutes is a groundbreaking step towards making Saarland and France a European driving force and center for future technologies such as Artificial Intelligence. This development also shows that Saarland, as an IT location, has an exceptional significance and attractiveness and that our France strategy, which aims to increase cooperation with our French partners, is bearing fruit. Prime Minister of Saarland Tobias Hans

Germany and France are also focusing on people in the research and development of artificial intelligence. AI for humanity is a central aspect of this common vision of values. I am very pleased that DFKI and Inria, as two internationally very important research institutions, will further intensify their cooperation by signing this MoU. For the Kaiserslautern site, this means in concrete terms that cooperation in the field of machine learning and deep learning will be expanded. These are topics in which DFKI already has internationally recognized expertise in Kaiserslautern, which will be further strengthened by the cooperation. State Secretary Heike Raab

This MoU between DFKI and Inria illustrates the momentum of the French-German cooperation on AI within the European dynamics, following the Aachen Treaty and the recent meeting of Toulouse. Our national plans dedicated to AI promote bilateral partnerships between research organizations from both countries. DFKI and Inria share a similar and open vision about AI and this paves the way for new opportunities in order to strengthen our partnership on concrete projects, both at bilateral and European levels. Inria CEO Bruno Sportisse

This MoU between Inria and DFKI documents that we are not only talking about Franco-German AI cooperation but also actively coordinating research and defining joint projects. We are looking forward to the collaboration because we are bringing together the French and German vision of AI for the benefit of people and society. In both countries, programs have been initiated that fill "l‘intelligence artificielle au service de l‘humanité" and "KI für den Menschen" with content, thus creating value for France and Germany, but also for European society. DFKI CEO Antonio Krüger.

DFKI and Inria have a long history of scientific cooperation and dialogue. This dialogue was strengthened in 2019 through bilateral visits and regular high-level meetings, which have led to a shared diagnosis and vision for the challenges of AI and digital sovereignty in Europe.

In the future, the two scientific institutions will cooperate within the framework of a joint strategic research and innovation agenda in the areas of AI for INDUSTRIE 4.0, AI infrastructures, AI and cybersecurity, human-robot cooperation and wearables, and other topics. At the heart of the agreement there is also a strong joint commitment to the European AI initiative CLAIRE (Confederation of Labs for AI Research in Europe, claire-ai.org) to bring European AI researchers closer together and to jointly advance European research for AI that benefits people while respecting fundamental European values.

Specific measures include the implementation of joint research and innovation projects, which partly build on existing projects of both organizations, as well as new topics, which are defined and worked out in joint workshops. Today's signing of the MoU was preceded by a workshop in Nancy on 20 and 21 January with more than 80 participants, in which both institutes explored common potentials and which was the prelude to regular working meetings and exchanges. Selected topics on which these projects will focus are:

• Trust through Explainability and Certification of AI-Systems
• Surpassing the language barriers in Europe and the world
• Breakthrough with AI in Health and Personalized Medicine
• Better HW/SW infrastructure for AI (e.g., TPUs, FPGA, Quantum, etc.)
• Application of AI to Sustainability (e.g., Climate)
• Using AI to improve the competitiveness of European industry
• Education and training in AI & AI for education and training

The partners are confident that their cooperation on these issues will help build a society that unites the people of Europe, that includes everyone, and uses technology to serve people.

In the future, Inria and DFKI intend to work together to advance research programs and activities on a European level in a coordinated manner. Joint proposals have already been submitted under the ICT 48 call for the creation of centers of excellence for AI.

A joint steering committee consisting of representatives of the management of DFKI and Inria will define the concrete projects of cooperation and foster their implementation.