Sovereignty, Scalability, and Strategic Investment
INFORM calls for European AI strategy
May 13, 2025
The International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen (Germany) and Aachen AI Week provide an impulse: INFORM calls for an independent, industrially anchored European AI strategy. Europe is at a turning point in the development of artificial intelligence (AI). While hyperscalable AI models are emerging in the USA and China is making AI a pillar of its national industrial strategy, Europe has long been an observer. It is about time for an independent, technologically based AI strategy.
Dr. Jörg Herbers, CEO of Aachen-based INFORM GmbH, expresses this demand clearly on the occasion of this year's AI Week of the AI Center of RWTH Aachen University and the supporting program of the Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen:
“Europe must no longer put ethical principles and regulation at the center of its AI perspective. We need technological self-assertion: the ambition to translate our industrial strength, our logistical excellence and our research expertise into scalable, marketable AI systems - from Europe, for Europe and the global market,” explains Herbers.
Daring more AI expertise - thinking beyond regulation
INFORM is a sponsor of the Aachen AI Week and is actively involved in the supporting program. A key highlight is Herbers' participation in the high-caliber panel discussion “AI made in Europe - and what does that mean for our region?” on May 20 in the Coronation Hall of Aachen City Hall. The event is part of the official Charlemagne Prize supporting program.
“AI made in Europe must not be a defensive formula for regulation,” says Herbers. “It's not about taming technology, but about making it productive. It's not about focusing on AI criticism, but on AI expertise. Europe must now show that it can do more: Translating scientific excellence into operational, scalable systems.”
Herbers therefore welcomes the initiative to found the AI Alliance Aachen, which will be officially celebrated by the signing of a memorandum during AI Week. The aim of the alliance is to establish a strong regional AI ecosystem that bridges the gap between research, industry and the public sector.
“Aachen combines cutting-edge research, industrial excellence and a growing innovation network - the ideal place to not only discuss European AI, but to implement it,” emphasizes Herbers. “But this now requires targeted investment: in talent, infrastructure and concrete applications. The debates are over. Now is the time to act.”
AI that keeps Europe's economy moving
For years, INFORM has been developing operational AI solutions that automate and optimize decision-making processes in logistics, manufacturing, finance and aviation. From the company's perspective, it is precisely this tactical automation that creates strategic resilience, a key competitive advantage in geopolitically volatile times.
The ability to act quickly and intelligently under uncertainty is crucial - for example in the event of disruptions in supply chains, production downtimes or when managing complex material flows. “The operational intelligence of European companies is not created in an ivory tower, but where difficult decisions have to be made every day under time pressure: on the shopfloor, for example in production or logistics,” explains Herbers. “This is precisely why we need AI systems that make real processes more efficient, robust and competitive - not as theoretical models, but as a tactical brain for practical use.”