Science ministers of the states demand a billion-dollar AI program for universities. “The promotion of innovations must be a focus of the new federal government” said the new president of the science ministers, Bettina Martin (SPD), to the “Handelsblatt” (Tuesday edition).
A high-priority need is an AI offensive with an AI infrastructure program for universities, said the science minister of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. “We must build up computing capacity on a broad scale, because AI will soon be an indispensable tool in every scientific field” said Martin. Since the “strongly financed federal states cannot do it alone, we need a program at least in the price class of the Digital Pact for Schools.” The federal government had made at least six billion euros available for this since 2019.
In the face of the times, Martin advocates for no longer categorically excluding military research at universities, as many of their civil clauses often prescribe. “Research should primarily serve peaceful purposes, but completely excluding ‘dual use’ is not realistic in the face of the times.”
The decline in the number of students at universities over the past few years, which Martin calls an “alarm signal” needs to be addressed. Universities must become more attractive and also attract more international students. However, German-language study programs must be linked to English-language courses differently than before. “Because only if they learn German, the transition to the German job market will be easy for them” said Martin.