The “Learning Systems Platform” (PLS), initiated by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, now BMFTR) at the suggestion of the High-Tech Forum’s Expert Forum on Autonomous Systems and acatech, (PLS) develops positions in seven working groups on opportunities and challenges in the fields of robotics, mobility, medical technology, IT security, data protection, law, and ethics, and discusses options for action regarding the responsible use of AI. The “IT Security, Privacy, Law, and Ethics” working group addresses, through two sub-working groups, issues related to security, safety, and privacy in the development and application of learning systems.

Since this year, the Law and Ethics sub-working group has been led by Christoph Bieber (Center for Advanced Internet Studies, University of Duisburg-Essen) and Fellow Lauber-Rönsberg. Currently, they are working on a white paper examining how AI is transforming the web. Also on the agenda for the coming year are: age verification in the context of the political debate, restricting social media access for children and adolescents, the implementation of the AI Act, and the topic of AI & Emotions (automated emotion recognition, emotional attachment to AI, and challenges for vulnerable groups). Their work serves to promote social and democratic exchange and to protect fundamental rights, particularly in the form of data protection and freedom from discrimination.

About Anne Lauber-Rönsberg

Anne Lauber-Rönsberg has been a full professor at TU Dresden since 2021 and heads the Chair of Civil Law, Intellectual Property Law, Copyright Law and Media and Data Protection Law. The Dresden legal scholar is, among other things, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Managing Director of the Institute for International Law, Intellectual Property and Technology Law.