Munich Center for Technology in Society

The Munich Center for Technology in Society (MCTS) is a research center at the Technical University of Munich, dedicated to science and technology studies.[1] It was established in 2012 as of part of the German Universities Excellence Initiative.

Munich Center for Technology in Society
AbbreviationMCTS
Established2012 (2012)
Location
FieldScience and technology studies
Parent organization
Technical University of Munich
Websitemcts.tum.de

Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence

In 2019, the Technical University of Munich announced the establishment of the Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence (IEAI) as part of the MCTS, to investigate the ethics of artificial intelligence.[2] Christoph Lütge serves as the founding director.

Controversies

Facebook is funding the institute with a total of €7.5 million over five years. This has been met with significant criticism. The contractual agreement between the university and the US company was kept secret, though the "Facebook Unrestricted Gift Letter" became public. For the grant, the company reserves the right to stop paying out further funding at any time after its payment of an initial margin of $1.5 million, without giving reasons. This was interpreted by politicians and the media as a threat to refrain from publishing unfavorable research results. The agreement also explicitly states that the institute must be led by founding director Christoph Lütge. Lütge holds an endowed chair in business ethics at TUM, endowed by former Siemens executive Peter Löscher. Should the university wish to appoint another institute director, it would require the prior written approval of Facebook.[3][4]

Christian Kreiss, a professor at Hochschule Aalen, criticized the university for becoming Facebook's extended marketing arm through this funding. Alexander Filipović, a professor of media ethics at the Munich School of Philosophy, said that while he was concerned, he trusted the university.[5]

Chris Köver wrote on Netzpolitik.org that after Sheryl Sandberg announced the partnership, many media outlets "from Tagesschau to Süddeutsche Zeitung" immediately reported on the company's commitment to ethics in AI. Köver wrote: "Facebook has bought a comparatively cheap image campaign in the German media landscape this way for 6.6 million euros."[4]

References
  1. "The MCTS". Munich Center for Technology in Society. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  2. "New Research Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence". Technical University of Munich. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  3. Kreiss, Christian. "Ein vielsagender geheimer Vertrag mit Facebook". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  4. Köver, Chris (21 January 2019). "Warum Facebook ein Institut für Ethik in München finanziert". Netzpolitik.org (in German). Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  5. Hauck, Mirjam (21 January 2019). "Facebook und die TU München: "Wir sind unabhängig"". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 8 January 2021.
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