SMART AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS MEETING SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES

This paper, as a keynote and introduction IDIMT 2024 Session D, Autonomous systems and smart, sustainable, and resilient environments, provides an overview over some areas of “Smart Environments”, where ICT and AI technologies provide essential support to meet challenges of sustainability, resilience and European sovereignty. A particular European concern is to guarantee this in a human-centered, ethically aligned, trustworthy manner. “Nobody left behind” and “for the benefit and empowerment of people” (with respect to automation and AI) are principles expressed already in the first declaration of the current President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in “A Union that strives for more – My agenda for Europe”. The “Green Deal” and “European Sovereignty” in key economic and research areas, are further far-leading goals and European modifications of the paradigm of “Society 5.0”. Smart technologies are the drivers of economic and societal disruptive changes and a chance to shape our future in a beneficial way (but no chance without risk). This is part of the European way (contribution) to resolve the current crisis (climate change, aging society, shortage of critical resources resulting in critical dependencies, unbalanced world economy and powers).