Federal Minister Hubertus Heil visits Cyber Valley in Tübingen

Tübingen, 12.09.2024 - Hubertus Heil, Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, visited Cyber Valley GmbH in Tübingen in July 2024 as part of his summer tour. During the visit, representatives of Cyber Valley, the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS), the University of Tübingen, and the Tübingen AI Center discussed the opportunities that Germany offers for skilled workers and the benefits of integrating AI into the workplace.

Shaping the future of work with intelligent systems

Federal Minister Hubertus Heil is certain: “By 2035 at the latest, every profession will have points of contact with artificial intelligence applications. AI offers the opportunity to improve the world of work for everyone, increase productivity and reduce the workload of employees.” To achieve this, it is important that people trust AI and know how to use it. “Cyber Valley therefore has the same goal as we do: To harness the opportunities of AI in order to create added value for companies and employees. Here, bright minds from all over the world are given the space and opportunity to develop their AI ideas. This also contributes to making Germany one of the world's leading countries in AI research,” says Heil.

Cyber Valley also supports the Ministry of Labor's initiatives for the strategic recruitment of qualified international workers. Top talent from around the world will shape the future economy, especially by establishing companies in Germany. Rebecca C. Reisch, Managing Director of Cyber Valley GmbH, emphasized: “Cyber Valley stands not only for first-class research with an entrepreneurial spirit, but also for an international, highly qualified community of talent that drives our excellence.”

According to Reisch, in addition to the role of cutting-edge technologies, it is also essential to talk about the importance of qualified specialists from abroad for economic growth. “Multinational and multicultural communities and working environments like ours are crucial for the country's future success, so that the economy remains attractive and competitive worldwide for generations to come.” The Immigration Act for Skilled Workers, which was passed in 2019, is therefore a topic close to the Federal Minister's heart. This year, further regulations have been added to the existing law, which Heil discussed with Cyber Valley representatives of Indian origin.   

Insights into excellent projects made in Baden-Württemberg

In addition to lively discussions about international recruitment and successful integration, Cyber Valley presented selected projects from MPI-IS and Tübingen AI Center that exemplify excellence in research and innovation. Wieland Brendel and the Polybot team showed what impact their autonomous four-legged robot solution will have on sustainable agriculture and food production in the future. Dieter Büchler and Jan Schneider from the Intelligent Soft Robots Lab of the Empirical Inference Department at MPI-IS demonstrated the 3D-printed muscle robot that learned how to play table tennis using reinforcement learning methods. The tour ended with a visit to the Capture Hall of the Perceiving Systems Department at MPI-IS. Tsvetelina Alexiadis presented the progress made in computer vision research. This form of visual perception for computers can be used in the healthcare industry and in all areas that use avatars.

All these projects always have a large human element and therefore deal intensively with ethical implications and regulatory measures. “As is usually the case when it comes to AI, the focus is still on people. It is and remains exciting to see how intelligent systems can support us more and more and what will be possible in the future if we bundle synergies and bring together business and science. And we are delighted that Mr. Heil shares this interest as much as we do,” summarizes Rebecca C. Reisch.  

About Cyber Valley

Cyber Valley is Europe’s largest and leading center for excellence in artificial intelligence and modern robotics. Its mission and public mandate are to advocate for research, development, application, and acceptance of technologies and methods in the field of intelligent systems. Cyber Valley encourages entrepreneurship by uniting scientific excellence with innovation and technology transfer. In addition, Cyber Valley facilitates critical reflection on the ethical and social implications of AI through public engagement. Cyber Valley envisions a future in which the full potential of intelligent systems is leveraged for the greater good of the world.