PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Gerhard Friedrich

Gerhard Friedrich is a computer scientist whose AI work spans industrial systems, ontology debugging and combinatorial problem-solving. He began working with industry on AI in 1987, moved to Siemens AG Austria in 1993, and became a professor at the University of Klagenfurt in 1997. His 2011 paper proposed query strategies for ontology diagnosis; he became a EurAI Fellow in 2012 and served as dean of Klagenfurt's Faculty of Technical Sciences from 2013 to 2021. In May 2026, he and his colleagues introduced CheckMate, which automates evolutionary code generation for combinatorial problems. He is a professor and AI department chair at Klagenfurt.

Timeline

  1. 1987

    AI in industry

    He begins working with industry, including Siemens AG, on artificial intelligence in 1987. He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the Vienna University of Technology.

  2. 1993

    AI at Siemens Austria

    In 1993, he moves from the Vienna University of Technology to Siemens AG Austria and sets up an R&D department for AI.

  3. 1997

    Professor at Klagenfurt

    In 1997, he becomes full professor at the University of Klagenfurt and establishes its AI research department.

  4. 2011

    Interactive ontology debugging

    In 2011, he coauthors a paper that proposes query-selection strategies for finding a target diagnosis in an ontology.

  5. 2012

    A EurAI Fellowship

    In 2012, he becomes a Fellow of the European Association for Artificial Intelligence.

  6. May 2013–December 2021

    Dean of Technical Sciences

    From May 2013 to December 2021, he serves as Dean of the Faculty of Technical Sciences at the University of Klagenfurt.

  7. May 2026

    CheckMate automated code generation

    In May 2026, he and his colleagues introduce CheckMate, which automates evolutionary code generation for combinatorial problems.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor and AI department chair

    He is a Full Professor of Computer Science at the University of Klagenfurt and heads its Intelligent Systems and Business Informatics research group. Since 2024, he has served as Chair of the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Austrian Cluster of Excellence Bilateral AI.

  1. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI from 1961 to 2025, with a year-by-year chart.
  2. The United States employs an estimated 53% of people in our data with a known employment countryOur estimates of where AI careers are concentrated now and how countries’ shares of dated positions changed over time.
  3. 46% of living people in our data with known birth and employment countries work outside their birth countryOur estimate of cross-border careers in AI, from country of birth and the country of each current organization.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionOur estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.

Sources and credits

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  1. A Paradigm Shift in Computer Science? / People — TU Wien Informatics informatics.tuwien.ac.at. Checked 19 October 2026.
  2. Prof. Dr. Gerhard Friedrich - Universität Klagenfurt gerhard-friedrich.at. Checked 19 October 2026.
  3. Interactive ontology debugging: two query strategies for efficient fault localization arxiv.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  4. Awards | European Association for Artificial Intelligence eurai.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  5. Klagenfurt AI solves industry's "hard problems" – University of Klagenfurt aau.at. Checked 19 October 2026.