Bosch regards Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a key technology of the future that will open the door to numerous subsequent innovations, and that will enable us to continue to develop solutions that are "Invented for life". Extensive public debate is needed in order to gain people’s acceptance for AI. Bosch thus expressly welcomes the EU’s new Ethics Guidelines, whose creation we played an active part in.

At Bosch, we are aware that technological innovations involve both benefits and challenges. AI-enabled technologies, with the ability to learn, make decisions, and process unprecedented volumes of data, are presenting new opportunities for enhancing wellbeing. We at Bosch are committed to using AI to improve the quality of life of our customers and to help conserve natural resources. These goals reflect the words of our founder, Robert Bosch:

“Advances in the development of technology are to the fullest extent in service of humanity. This technique is designed to give the whole of humanity a maximum of life and wellbeing.”

Following Robert Bosch, human life and wellbeing are our foremost ethical concerns. AI, however, enables technologies that present challenges for how societies and individuals react to, and assign responsibility. It is a game-changing technology that can disrupt our society. Accordingly, we believe that AI has to be brought into line with our "Invented for Life" ethos, so that its application in the development and delivery of products and services meets our ethical standards. That is to say, AI should only be developed, used, and deployed to serve the common good. Our invented for life ethos means that we invest a lot in research and work alongside the finest AI research institutes worldwide to come up with safe, robust, and explainable AI technology.

This is reflected in the “Technical robustness and safety”, and “Transparency” requirements set out in the HLEG’s  assessment list. Other requirements, such as “Societal and environmental well-being” and “Privacy and data governance”, are rooted in our core values and Internet of Things principles.

Consequently, we  believe this list can provide helpful guidance to organizations and companies when developing a framework for implementing AI in the interest of society and the common good. We will participate in the pilot program to define a framework for making trustworthy AI reality. The assessment list is an essential and promising step in that direction.

About Michael Bolle

Michael Bolle has been a member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH since July 1, 2018. As chief digital officer and chief technology officer, he is responsible for the corporate sector for research and advance engineering as well as for the internet of things and digitalization (ID) and data processing (IT). His responsibilities also include the Bosch Software Innovations GmbH subsidiary and the corporate departments for technology, intellectual property, and quality management.

Born in Bergheim, Germany, on May 6, 1961, Michael Bolle is married and has four children. After leaving school in 1981, he studied telecommunications at RWTH University of Aachen, taking his diploma examination in 1986. Under the supervision of Alfred Fettweis, professor for telecommunications in the electrical engineering faculty at the University of Bochum, he was awarded a PhD (Dr.-Ing.) in 1992.