Hamburg Hosts the SustAInLivWork Mentoring Workshop on Ethics in AI

March 10, 2025
Ethics in AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming various industries, but perhaps nowhere is the ethical debate more critical than in healthcare. Decisions driven by AI can directly impact patient lives, making it crucial to establish ethical frameworks for responsible AI use.

This was the focus of the SustAInLivWork Mentoring Workshop on Ethics in AI, organized on March 4-5, 2025, by Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH). Over two days, experts from medicine, computer science, medical law, and philosophy gathered to explore AI’s ethical challenges and opportunities, particularly in healthcare applications.

Key Themes and Discussions

The workshop featured insightful presentations and interactive sessions on AI ethics, including:

  • Ethics by Design – Prof. Maximilian Kiener introduced crucial aspects of integrating ethics into AI development from the outset, rather than addressing concerns retroactively. An interactive session led by Dr Jonas Bozenhard allowed participants to discuss real-world ethical challenges. Based on a case study, the complexities of AI ethics and the necessity of interdisciplinary collaboration in developing ethical solutions were demonstrated.
  • AI Challenges: Data Scarcity & Explainability – Prof. Alexander Schlaefer and his team highlighted the challenge of data scarcity and the importance of high-quality, explainable AI models in healthcare, where trust and transparency are essential.
  • AI & Ethics in Legal Medicine – Dr Axel Heinemann and Prof. Benjamin Ondruschka discussed the complexities of using AI in forensic investigations, where decisions must be precise, explainable, and legally sound.
  • AI & Ethics in Rare Diseases – Prof. Michael Bockmayr emphasized how AI can revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases, ensuring patients receive timely and accurate care.
  • AI & Ethics in Biomedical Research – Dr Imke Fiedler explored AI’s role in biomedical research, particularly its potential to reduce reliance on animal models while accelerating drug discovery.

Moving Forward

The event provided a unique opportunity to discuss AI ethics in depth – a topic that is becoming increasingly urgent as AI continues to integrate into real-world applications. As AI advances, fostering collaboration between technical and ethical experts will be essential to ensuring that AI-driven solutions are both effective and ethically sound.

We extend our gratitude to all speakers and participants for their contributions and look forward to further discussions on AI ethics in future SustAInLivWork initiatives.

The project is co-funded under the European Union's Horizon Europe programme under Grant Agreement No. 101059903 and under the European Union Funds’ Investments 2021-2027 (project No. 10-042-P-0001).