Assessing and developing AI projects
Artificial intelligence beyond the hype. I assess with you whether an idea holds up, what it presupposes in terms of data and law, and what would work just as well without AI. What you end up with is a decision you can defend.
Who it is for
Public bodies, foundations, associations and research institutions. Both for organisations with a concrete application on the table and for those where the question is still open. Leadership and the relevant department should sit down together, with IT joining as soon as data is involved.
How I work
First, understanding. Not a foundation course, but as much technical grounding as it takes to be part of the decision. Half a day in the opening session is usually enough.
Then the assessment. We look at the data available, at the legal classification along the risk categories of the AI Act, at the expected benefit and at the alternatives without AI. A simpler method often solves the same problem.
Then the workshop. Over a full day we develop the application further and harden it against the points where it would fail in daily operation. I work with the KI-Toolkit, a card set for working on application ideas in mixed groups.
Finally, the handover. In two hours we go through the assessment together. Next step, effort and responsibility are named, each with a person and a date.
Three sessions, spread over six to eight weeks.
What you end up with
A written assessment of around ten pages: recommendation, open questions, named risks and a sequence for the next steps. It is written so that it can serve as the basis for a formal decision.
What is not included
No legal advice. I tell you what a method does technically and where its limits lie. Whether that is sufficient in your case is for your data protection officers and your legal team to decide.
No training of your own models and no running of production systems.
No support for a procurement where the product has already been chosen and only needs justifying.
I advise against it when the data does not support the idea, when a method without AI achieves the same, or when no one is named who will answer for the results once it is live.
Frequent questions
What if the outcome is to advise against AI?
Then that is the result. A considered no costs less than a project started on shaky ground.
Do we need developers of our own?
Not for the assessment. For an implementation I will tell you which roles you have to fill.
Does this also cover tools we already use?
Yes. Existing tools can be assessed for data, law and benefit in the same way.
