Germany's AI Dependence: The Growing Concern
Poll findings indicate a potentially worrying reliance on foreign sources for artificial intelligence technology. - Foreign AI Dependence Assessment Reveals Potential Overreliance on Overseas Providers
Germans are buckling down on Artificial Intelligence (AI) use, yet there's a rising sensation of reliance on foreign AI providers, principally the USA and China. This is the verdict of a widespread survey conducted by the industry association, Bitkom.
A staggering 68% of respondents argue that Germany leans excessively on these two nations for AI development. More than half of the respondents, 60%, desire a decrease in dependency on American AI corporations.
The survey finds that around 67% of Germans aged 16 or older engage with generative AI from time to time. Last summer, this number was a meager 40%. Predominantly, this engagement is limited to the leading trio: OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google.
Top three AI providers maintain sterling leadership
Around 43% of Germans utilize ChatGPT from OpenAI, 39% opt for Microsoft Copilot, while 28% prefer Gemini from Google. Interestingly, a comparable number of people, 43% for ChatGPT, 43% for Gemini, and 35% for Copilot, are aware of these services but don't use them.
Chatbots like DeepSeek from China and Claude from the US startup Anthropic have garnered expert attention, but they're scarcely utilized by the population. Only 2% avail themselves of each of these two services, while 9% are familiar with them. The same goes for Perplexity, with only 1% using the chatbot from San Francisco, as 4% are at least aware of it. Elon Musk's company, xAI's AI service, Grok, remains nearly unheard of: lesser than 1% use it, and 2% are acquainted with the service.
Mistrust in AI providers
Those who shy away from AI applications primarily point to a lack of interest and mistrust as reasons for their decision. For those evading generative AI, it's the same story: 77% cite a lack of interest, and a whopping 77% voice concerns over trust. Nearly two-thirds (64%) claim they lack the technical know-how. Close to half admit there's no need for AI (48%), and costs seem to play a minor role: 14% regard AI applications as too expensive.
Ralf Wintergerst, Bitkom's president, asserted, "Artificial Intelligence is sweeping Germany like wildfire and gaining rapid acceptance in the masses." Thus, it's vital that Germany doesn't slip into new digital dependencies. According to Wintergerst, we must promptly establish the circumstances for a self-reliant German and European AI industry. At the very least, 10 billion euros from the federal special fund should be allocated towards this objective in the next five years.
The study was based on a survey of 1,005 people aged 16 and over in Germany, commissioned by Bitkom in March and April. The survey is representative.
- Germany
- Artificial Intelligence
- Survey
- USA
- China
- Bitkom
- AI Dependence
- OpenAI
- Microsoft
- ChatGPT
- Chatbot
- Trust
- AI solutions
- Sovereign AI industry
- The survey conducted by Bitkom, a German industry association, revealed that 68% of respondents believe Germany overly depends on the USA and China for AI research and development.
- The survey also showed that about 60% of respondents desire a reduction in dependency on American AI corporations.
- The survey found that ChatGPT from OpenAI, Microsoft Copilot, and Gemini from Google are the most commonly used generative AI services among Germans, with around 43%, 39%, and 28% of respondents using them, respectively.
- Ralf Wintergerst, president of Bitkom, emphasized the need for a self-reliant German and European AI industry, suggesting at least 10 billion euros from the federal special fund should be allocated towards this goal in the next five years.
