The Bavarian AI Council gains with Prof. Dr. Sonja Zillner an internationally renowned expert at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence, industrial application, research, and regulation. Starting on 1 September 2026 she will join the Bavarian AI Council as a representative of the business sector.

In her leadership role at Siemens, Prof. Dr. Zillner significantly shapes the development of trustworthy and generative AI systems. Furthermore, she brings extensive experience from academia, research, and strategic AI consulting as well as a comprehensive international network to the committee's work. With her expertise, particularly in the area of Trustworthy AI, she will provide critical impulses for the responsible development and application of Artificial Intelligence and for further positioning Bavaria as a leading AI location.

"I am very pleased to be appointed to the Bavarian AI Council and look forward to incorporating my experiences from industry, research, and the development of trustworthy AI. Bavaria has the opportunity to set standards for responsible and safe AI applications, beyond being technologically leading. It is particularly important to me to further strengthen the transfer from research to industrial practice and to shape the close exchange between science, business, and politics," explains Zillner.

Special thanks to Thomas Hahn

With the change, BAIOSPHERE AGENCY also expresses special thanks to Thomas Hahn. Since the beginnings of the Bavarian AI Council, he has shaped its work with exceptional commitment, great professional expertise, and a clear understanding of the needs of business and industry.

As a long-standing representative of industry and former co-chairman, Thomas Hahn significantly contributed to strengthening the close alignment between science, business, and politics in the field of Artificial Intelligence. His impulses on digitalization, data, AI, robotics, standardization, and especially the transfer of innovations into industrial practice have sustainably shaped the work of the Bavarian AI Council and the development of BAIOSPHERE.

The Bavarian AI Council advises the Bavarian State Government on strategic questions of Artificial Intelligence and initiates impulses for central initiatives within the BAIOSPHERE. The committee unites leading personalities from universities, non-university research, and business and thus reflects the scientific and economic breadth of the Bavarian AI ecosystem.

With Prof. Dr. Sonja Zillner, the Bavarian AI Council consistently continues this connection between scientific excellence, economic implementation competence, and responsible development of Artificial Intelligence.