Institute for Science and Ethics (IWE)
The IWE is a central research unit of the University of Bonn. Core objective is to contribute to an ethical reflection of current developments in medicine, science, and technology in order to facilitate the responsible use of new potentials emerging in these fields of human activity.

Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability:
What's the problem?
Talk by Larissa Bolte, 23 September 2023, Bonn
Within this keynote of the first "Bonner Digitalfabrik" Larissa Bolte will also present the work of the Bonn Sustainable AI Lab.

The ethics of AI in medicine: From a local to a global context, and back
Talk by Dr Tijs Vandemeulebroucke, 22 September 2023, Berlin
The talk will focus on the use of AI in healthcare settings through an environmental-social lens. It will entail a call to enlarge the current bioethical approaches, with a local focus, to a global bioethics approach and will ask the question whose health we are actually talking about when we speak of using AI in healthcare settings.

AI in Agriculture: Exploring the Promises and Perils of an AI-Enabled Green Transformation in the Philippines.
Talk by Sophia Falk, 19 September 2023
Sophia Falk was invited to speak at the 9th Annual Public Policy Conference (APPC) "Green and Digital: Managing the Twin Transition toward Sustainable Development", organized by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

Sustainable AI Conference 2023 - Sustainable AI Across Borders
From 30th May to 1st June 2023, the Bonn Sustainable AI Lab organized its second conference dedicated to the topic of Sustainable AI with the theme Sustainable AI Across Borders.
All presentations in the main hall were recorded and will be published successively on our YouTube channel every Tuesday at noon.
A written review with many conference photos can be found here.
Sustainable AI Conference 2023: Sustainable AI Across Borders
- Prof. Dr. Aimee van Wynsberghe, Director Institute for Science and Ethics (IWE), University of Bonn
- Prof. Dr. Dr. Michael Hoch, Rector University of Bonn
- Dr. Ursula Sautter, Deputy Mayor of Bonn
- more videos will follow every Tuesday -

Public Lecture & Workshop by Prof. Dr. Andrew Feenberg
On the 15th till the 16th of June 2023, the IWE will welcome Prof. Dr. Andrew Feenberg (Simon Faser University, Canada) to give a public lecture and a workshop.
The public lecture (15th of June) is open for everyone. The workshop (16th of June) is open to all academic researchers of the University of Bonn, with priority to PhD students. Registration and more information via bolte@uni-bonn.de.
Sustainable AI Conference 2023 - Sustainable AI Across Borders

30 May - 1 June 2023 in Bonn
Keynote Speaker:
- Prof. Dr. Shannon Vallor (University of Edinburgh)
- Prof. Dr. Caesar Atuire (University of Ghana)
- Prof. Dr. Benedetta Brevini (University of Sydney and London School of Economics )
- Prof. Dr. Ulises Mejias (SUNY Oswego College)
This is the second Sustainable AI conference organized by the Bonn Sustainable AI lab at Bonn University’s Institute for Science and Ethics (IWE). The focus of the first conference in June 2021 was to create a community of researchers in the space of Sustainable AI and to raise awareness on the topic. The second conference will focus on cross cultural perspectives to address the variety and scope of ethical issues on a global scale. An inspiration for this theme is to acknowledge the reality that certain countries play an integral role in the early
production phase and the waste management but may never experience the benefits of AI.

Podcast with Prof. Dr. Aimee van Wynsberghe and Wouter Kolk
Prof. Dr. Aimee van Wynsberghe met with Wouter Kolk, CEO of Ahold Delhaize Europe and Indonesia, to discuss AI ethics in industry. The two of them spoke about the demands of industry leaders to use new technologies and the needs of customers to trust companies. A provocative and insightful talk!

Many Worlds of AI Conference
The Sustainable AI Lab hosts an interdisciplinary and interactive discussion exploring the multidimensionality of the relationship between AI and sustainability for different communities, both at the global and local levels.
The event will take place as part of the Many Worlds of AI Conference in Cambridge, UK (24.4.-28.4.23) at 10:30 on 28 April 2023.

Special issue in Sustainability
The special issue of the Sustainability journal "Towards the Sustainability of AI; Multi-Disciplinary Approaches to Investigate the Hidden Costs of AI" has now been completed.
Prints will be available in the near future.

Bonn Sustainable AI Lab at COP 27
The Sustainable AI Lab hosted an interdisciplinary and interactive discussion exploring the ways AI is re-shaping common goods, such as public space and state-society relations.
The discussion took place at COP 27 on 15 November 2022.

Prof. van Wynsberghe speaks about the risks of AI for Persons with Disabilities at the World's first G7 Global Inclusion Summit
The beginning of September saw the first ever G7 Global Inclusion Summit in Berlin, hosted by the Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Persons with Disabilities. The aim of the summit was to work together to enable more participation for people with disabilities in the G7 countries and to tackle global challenges together, also from the perspective of inclusion.
Prof. van Wynsberghe was invited to give a keynote on the impact of artificial intelligence on persons with disabilities. She highlighted how disability studies and scholars are largely excluded from the AI bias debate although the use of AI often exacerbates the marginalisation of persons with disabilities.

Alexander von Humboldt Professorship for Artificial Intelligence 2021
Aimee van Wynsberghe is the Alexander von Humboldt Professor for Artificial Intelligence (AI). She is sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and its sponsor, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.


Launch of the Bonn Sustainable AI Lab
The Sustainable AI Lab is a space for excellent researchers from different fields to work, collaborate, and brainstorm about the environmental, social, and economic costs of designing, developing, and using AI across society.
A short clip of the lab launch is available on YouTube.

Researching Ethical AI
Stiftung Mercator awards €3.8 Million to the Universities of Bonn and Cambridge
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming society as algorithms increasingly impact access to jobs and insurance, justice, medical treatments, as well as our daily interactions with friends and family. As these technologies race ahead, we are starting to see unintended social consequences: algorithms that promote everything from racial bias in healthcare to the misinformation eroding faith in democracies. To ensure AI supports core human values, the German philanthropic foundation Stiftung Mercator has awarded a €3.8 million grant to a collaboration between the Universities of Bonn and Cambridge.
Click here for more information.
IWE in 2 minutes
The IWE has created a series of short videos in which we introduce ourselves, present our projects and promote our events.
New episodes are published on our YouTube channel every Friday.
Sustainable AI Conference 2023
In June 2023 the second Sustainable AI Conference "Sustainable AI Across Borders" took place.
You can watch in on our YouTube channel.
Interviews, panels and podcasts with Aimee van Wynsberghe
On the following page you will find a selection of interviews with Prof. Dr. Aimee van Wynsberghe from the last two years.
Art Engagement
The Bonn Sustainable AI Lab regularly collaborates with artists and designers, for example in the framework of the ArtScience Residency.

Data Pollution & Power - Initiative
It is set up at the Bonn University’s Institute for Science and Ethics’ Sustainable AI Lab.
Contact
Institut für Wissenschaft und Ethik
Address
Institut für Wissenschaft und Ethik
Bonner Talweg 57
53113 Bonn
Germany
Sustainable AI Lab
Address
Institut für Wissenschaft und Ethik
Sustainable AI Lab
Bonner Talweg 57
53113 Bonn
Germany