The Academy of International Affairs (AIA) North Rhine-Westphalia officially opened on 25 August 2021 in the presence of the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet, and other illuminaries. For this occasion, the AIA held its first Summer Academy from 22-27 August, with the aim of discussing Artificial Intelligence and International Politics with experts from academia and politics.
Invited speakers addressed Artificial Intelligence (AI) from different perspectives, including its role in global politics and geopolitics, all the way through to its impact on the future of war and borders management. The ethical issues around the application of AI was also highlighted.
Former Executive Committee member Maral Dadvar (Stuttgart Media University, Germany) was invited to participate in this event and to represent the Global Young Academy.
Maral commented that “It was very refreshing to hear that AI was finally discussed as a scientific discipline and not as a threat. With all the possibilities that AI provides the human being with, it can also be weakening as it is not predictable, it is complex, with unintended consequences. To avoid having biased AI applications shaping the future, we should make sure to follow ethical data collection and representation, and avoid real world biases being reflected in our procedures.”
Regarding the AIA itselt, she added that “Considering their mission and scope of activities, there are many future collaboration opportunities between the Global Young Academy and The Academy of International Affairs North Rhine-Westphalia.”
For further information about AIA, contact their Communications Coordinator Andreas Schmidt at , or visit their website: http://www.aia-nrw.org (under construction).