More than 50 companies were involved in implementing the quality seal . They had first agreed on ethical values which bearers of the seal must undertake to respect, including placing people’s interests at the center of AI development and implementation activities, the secure handling of data in compliance with data protection laws, and the impartiality of the databases used. Measures were defined for each quality criterion. The quality seal is, however, no guarantee: Rather, companies must sign a voluntary undertaking to pledge that they will adhere to the relevant guidelines.

While the technical possibilities of AI were initially at the fore of discussions, ethical issues are now increasingly the focal point. In January 2019, a new research institute for ethics in AI was set up at the Technical University of Munich. Facebook is backing the initiative with €6.5 million, without, according to the Technical University of Munich, further specifications.