12 December 2019

The ML2R will be funded with an additional 8 million Euros until the end of 2022. As a result, the existing research efforts will be intensified and the research profile of the competence center will be extended to include the fields of Machine Learning on quantum computers and trustworthy Machine Learning algorithms as core areas of research. In addition, a virtual showroom will be installed as an online platform where data, models and information concerning Machine Learning will be made available.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has granted an additional 8 million Euros in federal funding for the ML2R. The funds will be available for the remainder of the first project phase until the end of 2022. This will enable the competence center to extend its research profile and among other things create up to 25 new positions for researchers who will strengthen future scientific endeavors. “This is an important sign for the long-term consolidation of the ML2R”, says Prof. Dr. Katharina Morik, speaker of the ML2R and coordinator of the German centers for Machine Learning. “The German government is showing its willingness to increase funding for the research on Machine Learning (ML) as a key technology and to strengthen the Rhine-Ruhr area as a hot-spot for ML research.”

Extension of research areas

Machine Learning is increasingly used in the context of high-risk systems and fields of application. Examples are autonomous driving and medical diagnostics. Hence, there is a significant societal and economic need for trustworthy ML applications. The concept of trustworthiness is comprised of the high quality of the underlying models as well as the fairness, transparency, reliability, security and privacy of the ML applications. The ML2R will direct research efforts to develop ML algorithms that allow to better cope with uncertainties about the model and its predictions as well as increase the trust of the eventual end-user in the operated system.

Quantum computers have the potential to be a key technology of the future and have been placed at the center of scientific and industrial efforts. Going forward, the ML2R will direct its efforts to determine which potentials the quantum computing technology holds for the research on ML and its applications. In addition, the prototype of a Quantum-Gate-Computer at the research facilities in Sankt Augustin will be utilized in order to further research on the calculation of probabilities.

Establishing a virtual showroom

The ML2R places an emphasis on the open access to science and data. Following the budget increase, the ML2R will install a virtual ML showroom which will provide resources concerning the field of ML at no charge. The resources offered will be comprised of demonstrators of novel ML applications, ML online courses and learning material, curated real-world datasets, trustworthy ML algorithms and models as well as frequent information and news geared towards the transfer of ML knowledge and current development towards the industry. The ML2R will consequently further strengthen cooperative research on ML as well as enable the transfer of scientific achievements into the economic sector.