Munich/Vienna. Experts at international testing, inspection and certification (TIC) company TÜV SÜD have issued their first certificate for an ethically responsible application with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the Austrian logistics startup Digicust GmbH. The IEEE CertifAIEdTM is an international certification scheme that assesses the ethical responsibility of existing AI systems.
"This voluntary certification by TÜV SÜD highlights Digicust's goal of designing an AI application that is demonstrably fairer and more trustworthy and goes beyond the requirements imposed by law," says Philipp Coution, Head of AI Quality at TÜV SÜD, who carried out the audit at Digicust. Digicust offers innovative solutions for digitalizing and automating customs clearance for industry and logistics companies, an area where ethical aspects are highly relevant to prevent the import of any unsafe or non-complying products.
Ahmad Haj Mosa, PhD, co-founder of Digicust und Chief of Innovation and AI, explains: "This certification ensures that our AI solutions are trustworthy and in line with the applicable safety standards. This in turn strengthens the trust of our customers and business partners over the long term."
Certification is culmination of one-year process
TÜV SÜD carried out the first AI assessment in accordance with ethical criteria. Completed in summer 2024, the roughly one-year process covered assessment of both the technical features and, in particular, the ethical aspects of AI. The certification procedure was based on the CertifAIEd assessment, which considers criteria such as accountability, privacy, algorithmic bias, and transparency.
First international certification scheme
IEEE CertifAIEdTM is a certification scheme for assessing the ethics of AI applications and raising their acceptance. The certification criteria were derived from the IEEE 7000-2021, the first international standard to consider ethical aspects in the development and use of AI systems. The criteria address many ethical aspects of the development and use of autonomous intelligent systems (AIS). The resulting certificate and certification mark provide proof to users of the organization's efforts to offer trustworthy solutions.
Companies frequently at a loss
While AI applications are widely known and used, they frequently fail to address ethical aspects. Even where ethical criteria have been defined, their implementation in assessment criteria is difficult and depends on many factors. The EU AI Act stipulates that ethical requirements must be considered in AI applications from an early stage. IEEE CertifAIEdTM sets out assessment and certification criteria and methods designed to protect AI applications from ethical risks.
Quality assurance for AI: TÜV SÜD sets standards
TÜV SÜD has been addressing the topic of AI for years and sits on committees developing certification criteria for testing and assessing products with artificial intelligence. These applications are already used and tested in real life in areas such as automated driving and medical devices as well as in consumer and business solutions.