Responsible application of Artificial Intelligence

KPN is setting up a new, public-private research lab, together with the national Innovation Center for Artificial Intelligence (ICAI) and the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science (JADS). The KPN Responsible AI Lab will focus on the development of new technologies in which the responsible use of Artificial intelligence, or AI, is central. The aim of the KPN Responsible AI Lab is to develop solutions for companies with the help of AI. Solutions that are transparent and that take a highly conscious approach to dealing with privacy and personal data.

“We’re also working on the responsible application of AI within KPN,” says Winifred Andriessen, Director Advanced Analytics at KPN. “This requires multidisciplinary research that looks at both the AI technology itself and the use of this technology in a way that is responsible and appropriate for our society. This is also the reason why we’re partnering with JADS. JADS is a multidisciplinary institute that combines technology with social sciences. This gives KPN an advantage, so that we’re not only gaining insight into the potential power of AI, but we’re also able to convert this responsibly into added value for our customers and wider society. Think of examples such as using AI for energy efficiency, or the rolling out of a fiber optic network.”

KPN and JADS are working together on PhD research at the interface of data science, technology, decision-making, privacy and compliance. Eric Postma, one of the scientific directors of the KPN Responsible AI Lab, expands on this: “Data science is all about technology (maths, statistics and computer science). We apply this science in the context of expertise in these fields on the one hand, and the social, ethical, and legal issues at play around AI on the other hand.”

From PhD research to concrete applications for our customers
In the next five years, six PhD students will work in the KPN Responsible AI Lab on projects that contribute to the technical and legal aspects of transparency, on data engineering approaches that guarantee privacy-by-design and on a personalized and responsible offering through text analysis and responsible up-lift modeling. The results of this research will then be used to achieve responsible AI solutions for the benefit of business, customers and society as a whole.

Partnership with JADS and ICAI
The ICAI is a national collaboration of several universities, companies and the Dutch government, with the aim of maintaining the Netherlands’ position as a front-runner in the field of AI by developing knowledge and talent in this area. “We are very proud to welcome JADS and KPN as partners in our ICAI network for the KPN Responsible AI Lab. Joining forces for the development and application of AI in the Netherlands is a great step,” says Maarten de Rijke, Scientific Director of ICAI. The KPN Responsible AI Lab will be located in Den Bosch and will become an ICAI laboratory alongside those in Amsterdam, Delft, Nijmegen and Utrecht.

JADS is a joint initiative of the Technical University Eindhoven and Tilburg University, in response to the rapidly increasing demand for experts who can improve decision-making processes in organizations based on big data and a multidisciplinary approach.