Germany as an AI hotspot: How companies are losing touch!

Germany as an AI hotspot: How companies are losing touch!

Germany is facing the challenge of establishing itself as an international location for artificial intelligence (AI). A recent survey shows that three quarters of companies see AI as the most important future technology, but only around 20% actually use AI applications in their business operations. This illustrates the discrepancy between the perception and the reality of AI use in the German economy. Loud The German economy The AI ​​provider market is predominantly dominated by companies outside Germany and the EU.

Dr. Ralf Wintergerst, President of the digital association Bitkom, highlights the need for a comprehensive application strategy as well as investments in digital infrastructure and talent. With regard to the economic potential of AI, it is estimated that generative AI could contribute up to 330 billion euros to gross value added in Germany if 50% of companies successfully use AI.

The state of AI use in Germany

The use of AI is unevenly distributed in Germany. Current figures show that 31% of large companies, 27% of medium-sized companies and only 13% of small companies use AI-supported technologies. The reasons for the low distribution are manifold: data protection requirements, legal hurdles, a lack of technical know-how and a shortage of skilled workers represent major hurdles. The goal must be that within the next four years, 90% of companies recognize the use of AI applications as added value.

A special focus on increasing efficiency is also recognized as a potential benefit of AI for public administration and key economic sectors. In order to leverage this potential, we recommend Bitkom a variety of concrete measures to strengthen AI in Germany, which require a financial strengthening of the national AI strategy and the expansion of powerful AI computing infrastructure.

Recommendations for promoting AI

• Nationale KI-Strategie finanziell massiv stärken, mindestens 10 Milliarden Euro in fünf Jahren.
• Leistungsstarke KI-Recheninfrastruktur aufbauen, einschließlich bürokratiearmer Zugänge.
• KI-Förderprogramme bündeln und entbürokratisieren.
• Ein umfassender KI-Talentpool muss geschaffen werden, unter anderem durch Informatik als Pflichtfach.
• Innovationsfreundlicher Rechtsrahmen für KI, inklusive praxisgerechter Datenschutz-Grundverordnung.
• Erleichterter Zugang zu hochwertigen Trainingsdaten für die KI-Entwicklung.
• Bessere Bedingungen für KI-Startups und Scaleups durch vermehrtes Wagniskapital.
• Förderung der Spitzenforschung im Bereich KI.
• Öffentliche Hand sollte als Vorreiter bei KI-Lösungen agieren.
• Staatliche KI-Kompetenz muss weiter ausgebaut werden, inklusive der Schaffung eines unabhängigen KI-Rats.

These recommendations are crucial to ensuring Germany’s competitiveness in the global AI market. An increased focus on the practical implementation of these strategies could put Germany in a leading position within the European AI landscape and help to fully exploit the technological potential.