Artificial Intelligence is ubiquitous in our society and a key driver of economic growth. This comes with societal and technological challenges, as the increasing proliferation of current AI in society can reduce the autonomy of humans instead of supporting it. In order to address demands for transparency of AI, human agency, safety and resource-efficiency, the research project SAIL focuses on the full life-cycle of AI systems. This highly interdisciplinary research project (Core AI, humanities, social sciences and engineering) paves the way for systems that are sustainable with respect to short-term and long-term objectives and take care of their technical, cognitive and societal impact at reasonable operating costs.