Dr. Saskia Horsch

Aleph Alpha has notified the European Commission’s AI Office of its intent to sign the EU’s code of practice for general-purpose AI models. The German start-up will endorse only the transparency and copyright chapters, not the systemic risk section, consistently with its strategic pivot away from so-called "frontier" model development toward B2B AI solutions, including fine-tuning of third-party models. For the German start-up, the code's transparency measures align with its approach and the copyright obligations support proportionality for smaller providers. Aleph Alpha is the second major European AI firm that joins the code, after France's Mistral. Leading US providers OpenAI, Anthropic and (likely) Microsoft are also commiting to it. More announcements are expected this week as the Commission plans to announce the initial list of signatories on Friday.

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✳️ CDR is getting its own department in Germany's government ✳️ The German Federal Government is creating a dedicated department for negative emissions! The team will be part of their 'National Climate Policy' sub-division, according to a recent draft. But there's more exciting news! Two weeks ago, the cabinet approved a draft budget that earmarks: ‣ €111 million for procurement of negative emissions in 2026 ‣ €320 million committed for subsequent years This hints at Germany's first direct investment in CDR - hopefully soon replacing the high-risk, outdated CDM credits purchased by government agencies. With its significant industrial footprint and ongoing climate commitments, Germany needs to embrace CDR as an essential component of climate action. It's been great working with Stefan Schlosser at Deutscher Verband für negative Emissionen e.V. (DVNE) to contribute to the growing understanding of CDR's role in German climate policy.

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Germany's Hightech Agenda has evolved from a draft to the cabinet-approved version with a new sub-objective referencing quantum software and applications. This is a welcome recognition of the importance of quantum software but it is equally important to recognize that this is only the start of a necessary mindset change to achieve technological leadership! After many meetings and personal discussions, one thing is clear: my concerns about the current strategies for quantum computing on a German and European level are not mine alone. There is a growing consensus that Germany and Europe are not putting enough strategic weight on quantum software. The Hightech-Agenda still subordinates software under a hardware effort, whereas the past years have shown that the two spheres are developing independent of each other.   #Software is where Europe has its greatest chance right now to achieve global technological leadership. Companies like Kipu Quantum, leading academics, industry heavyweights, and influential associations like Bitkom and QUTAC have been calling to strengthen this sector independantly of the (required) support for German and European quantum hardware providers.   With targeted investment it is entirely realistic to build a strategic lead in quantum software. In fact, I would argue this is one of the few areas where Europe can not only catch up but pull ahead.   That is why I welcome the fact that Bitkom has included some of our key proposals in their latest position paper: "𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘈𝘭𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘮𝘴, 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘗𝘊 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭-𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴."   However, position papers alone won’t change the trajectory, we know this and so my team and I will continue to push: meeting with members of Bundestag, Bundesregierung and European Commission, engaging with industry and academia, and encouraging all institutions that are ready to act.    We are ready to provide our input in this important discussion because we believe that taxpayers deserve to see a tangible return in the form of economic growth, innovation leadership, and real industrial capabilities.   Yes, it will be harder for journalists and photographers, as pictures of huge quantum systems and mysterious boxes are more visually striking than lines of code but we know exactly what needs to be done. Now we have to do it.

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𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 Apple 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 Last month a Frankfurt Regional Court blocked Apple from advertising its Watch as “carbon neutral.” (Reuters News Agency) This ruling is more than a legal footnote. If even Apple—one of the world's most powerful brands—is being held to account for vague sustainability claims, it shows how quickly tolerance for offset-driven marketing is eroding. At yesterday’s “Awe Dropping” launch, Apple highlighted progress on recycled materials, renewable energy in its supply chain, and packaging. But was there any mention of “carbon neutral” or offset-based claims? 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐭 — 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮? That absence would mark a significant shift in tone from last year’s messaging... #Sustainability #Greenwashing #Accountability #EU

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