This November, the city of Vienna, Austria, was awarded the IEEE AI EThics certification for its commitment to a digital humanism strategy. The IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, and the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) announced that the City of Vienna is the first city in the world to earn the IEEE CertifiAIEd AI Ethics (AIE) certification for advancing the city’s digital humanism strategy.

The IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to the advancement of technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its renowned publications, conferences and technology standards, as well as its professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice in a wide variety of fields: aerospace systems, computers, telecommunications, biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics.

The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) is a collaborative organization at the heart of which innovators improve global standards for technology. IEEE SA provides a consensus-building environment with global openness and a platform for individuals to work together on the development of leading-edge, market-relevant technology standards and industry solutions that shape a better, safer and more sustainable world.

IEEE CertifAIEd certification aims to boost the confidence of public and private companies using the ethical benefits of artificial intelligence by awarding them certification in the absence of, or in addition to, enforced regulations for AI. Given that proposed legislation in the EU would require compliance certification for any AI-based system to mitigate any unforeseen risks, the City of Vienna is addressing these risks and demonstrating the benefits of responsible government innovation by earning the IEEE CertifAIEd label, and in doing so, setting a precedent for other cities and entities to achieve their goals in a responsible, human-centric manner.

Peter Hanke, City Councilor for Economic Affairs, said:

“With artificial intelligence, we can make many administrative tasks more efficient and faster. As the city of Vienna, we play a leading role here, especially when it comes to direct contact with people and especially when dealing with data, caution is required. People are at the centre of our concerns.

The IEEE CertifAIEd label ensures that a product, service or system has been verified to meet relevant ethical criteria, contributes to a higher level of trust and demonstrates a proactive approach to gaining public trust in AI systems. There are currently four sets of criteria available for IEEE CertifiAIEd certification:

• The transparency criteria address values built into the design of a system, as well as the availability and disclosure of choices made for development and operation.
• The accountability criteria recognize that system/service autonomy and learning capabilities are the result of algorithms and computational processes designed by humans and organizations that remain accountable for their results.
• Algorithmic bias criteria are concerned with preventing systematic errors and repeatable undesirable behaviors that create unfair results.
• Confidentiality criteria are about respecting the private sphere of life and the public identity of an individual, group or community, thereby preserving dignity.

Konstantinos Karachalios, CEO of IEEE SA said:

“IEEE has laid the foundation for AI ethics based on principles and standards created by hundreds of our volunteers over the past five years, which are already having global impact. IEEE CertifAIEd represents our continued evolution of the artificial intelligence ethics ecosystem by establishing a program to inspire trust and a means toward the responsible implementation of AI systems that demonstrate an organization’s commitment to preserving human values, dignity, and well-being, and to respecting, protecting, and preserving basic human rights. We are honored to work with the City of Vienna to support its Digital Humanism platform and provide the label for responsible innovation needed in today’s world to inspire certified trust for its AI systems.”

For Peter Weinelt, Deputy CEO, data protection is paramount:

“Security and data protection must be at the forefront when using AI from the very beginning. That’s why we relied on international expertise during the development of the software and proceeded with the ethical certification of our program.”

Translated from Vienne, première ville au monde certifiée IEEE AI Ethics pour sa stratégie d’humanisme numérique