Trustworthy Smart Autonomous Systems-of-Systems - Resilient Technology, Economy and Society

Smart and (partially) autonomous systems are today’s drivers of innovation and economic respectively societal disruptive changes: in all industrial and social areas highly automated or autonomous intelligent systems are taking over tasks and services – and maybe, one day, control of our lives. This is a considerable risk to democracy, human independence and human rights, raising ethical questions. However, conventional technologies have also an impact, particularly on excessive exploitation of natural resources, climate change and inequality in global economy and society.
The concept of circular economy became a focus when thinking about a more sustainable future. We are now seeing many communities and businesses adopt novel approaches based on circularity. European policy has reacted to the challenges of climate change and environmental footprint reduction particularly in context of production, transport, farming and large urban agglomerations – smartness (intelligence) is not only addressing well-being, assisted living and comfort of citizens (keyword “Society 5.0”), but even more sustainability goals in the long term. The European Green Deal is a commitment to future generations, while the European Green Cities movement addresses many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and manages a network of cities for collaboration and experience exchange by developing innovative projects.