An Ecosystem For Artificial Intelligence

Practical example and current challenges

• The project AI Marketplace establishes a digital platform for artificial intelligence (AI) in product development. The platform brings together AI experts, solution providers and manufacturing companies alike, promotes joint innovations and builds on an existing infrastructure. Users are provided with essential tools for the development of innovative AI solutions. The functions include an intelligent partner agency for AI use cases in production development, a data room for production development and a construction kit for AI development.
• The basis for the success of the AI marketplace is an IT architecture focused on self-determined data exchange. It is based on the IDS Reference Architecture Model (IDS-RAM) of the International Data Spaces Association, which ensures data sovereignty and fair transaction mechanisms. Challenges arise in particular with regard to data exchange and interoperation. The identity of the participants and the data sovereignty between them play a key role due to the access and use rights. Another challenge is the semantics for the organisation of data exchange and the information content of the exchanged data. Finally, it is important to offer a link to applications for AI services that goes beyond the pure exchange of data.
• The development of the AI marketplace is proceeding in four development stages, which represent consistent bundles of platform services and associated database structures. In the first stage, the Intelligent Matchmaking service will be implemented, bringing together manufacturing companies and AI experts to work together on AI applications for production. In the next step, a protected data room will be made available for development and test data in order to continuously improve the AI applications and adapt them to customer needs. In stage three, the app store for AI applications will be launched as a central exchange point to make the diverse offerings accessible to users. Finally, an AI construction kit will be created that offers standardised AI building blocks that can be combined as needed and used for the development of new solutions.

What added value does the "GAIA-X project" offer?

• The goals of the AI marketplace in production processes have many overlaps with those of GAIA-X. There are the highest requirements for data security and data sovereignty, which can be comprehensively fulfilled through GAIA-X. In addition, the realisation of partnership-based use and distribution of AI services and data within the framework of transparent regulations is one of the cornerstones of the AI marketplace.
• The GAIA-X ecosystem offers the AI marketplace the opportunity to become a specific contact point, a "special interest hub", by bringing together manufacturing companies and AI providers. Here, the AI marketplace benefits from the interoperability, the technical assurance of the principles of GAIA-X and the simplified distribution of AI components. Without the federated services that are at the heart of the GAIA-X ecosystem, a high level of effort would be required for any cooperation initiated via the AI marketplace. Because in this case, the necessary interoperability and connectivity would have to be created individually in each case. GAIA-X significantly lowers the economic barrier for the realisation of the AI marketplace and significantly increases the range of application scenarios, especially for SMEs. The establishment of a secure environment for data spaces is also elementary for the project. Data in the context of product development is often subject to the highest level of secrecy.
• GAIA-X accelerates both the development and the spread of the AI marketplace while reducing access barriers for users and providers.

Use Case Team

• Matthias C. Wendt – inno-focus businessconsulting GmbH