Four perspectives on responsible AI meet in Dortmund

Learning how to build an AI system is one thing. Understanding when it should be used, how its decisions can be explained, and what consequences it may have is another. “Responsible AI: Building AI We Can Trust” broadens the conversation beyond how AI works to how it should be developed and used responsibly.

The one-day FAIR-PLAI event takes place at Fraunhofer IML in Dortmund on October 5, 2026. It brings together researchers, industry practitioners and students to look at responsible AI from several perspectives. Four thematic blocks focus on bias and fairness, explainability and interpretability, laws and regulations, and green and sustainable AI. In the afternoon, on-site participants can continue the discussion in workshops.

Responsible AI beyond technical implementation

The event is part of FAIR-PLAI – Fostering Awareness of Integrity and Responsibility in Problem-based Learning of AI, a European research project that aims to develop teaching materials on responsible AI for university students.

The idea is to complement technical AI education with questions that arise once algorithms leave the classroom: Who might be affected by a system? Can its decisions be understood? Which legal requirements apply? What resources does it consume?

During the event, the FAIR-PLAI team will present first findings from its research and invite participants to examine them critically. Bringing different groups into the discussion is deliberate: AI experts, practitioners and students are equally encouraged to contribute their perspectives.

Speakers include Prof. Michael Henke and Lara Kuhlmann from TU Dortmund University, Prof. Cees Haringa from TU Delft, Prof. Radwa El Shawi from the University of Tartu, and Prof. Michal Tkáč and Prof. Miroslava Barkóciová from the Bratislava University of Economics and Business.

RC Trust joins as local co-host

RC Trust supports the event as local co-host in Dortmund, with Prof. Markus Pauly representing the Center on site. Lara Kuhlmann provides another connection between the institutions: she is a doctoral researcher jointly affiliated with Markus Pauly’s Chair of Mathematical Statistics and Applications in Industry and the Chair of Enterprise Logistics at TU Dortmund University, which is involved in FAIR-PLAI.

The collaboration also fits the subject of the day. Responsible AI involves more than the technical performance of a model. Questions about trustworthy data science, reliable methods, transparency and the consequences of AI systems are part of the same broader discussion.

How to join the event

“Responsible AI: Building AI We Can Trust” takes place on October 5, 2026, at Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Str. 2–4 in Dortmund. Participation is free of charge. The presentations can also be followed online; the workshops are available to on-site participants only.

Registration is required here.