eco – Association of the Internet Industry regards the High-Tech Agenda of the Federal Ministry of Education, Research, Technology and Space as an important step towards enabling digital innovations “made in Germany”. With this initiative, the German federal government is sending a strong signal for the country’s future viability and demonstrating its recognition of the importance of digital innovation. The Association particularly welcomes the fact that Artificial Intelligence is identified as the number one key technology in the agenda.
eco Chair of the Board, Oliver Süme, commented:
“The targeted promotion of key digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and quantum technologies is the right approach – and long overdue. Germany is still clearly lagging behind in the field of AI. The federal government’s High-Tech Agenda spells it out in black and white: a lack of expertise in AI is identified as one of several major weaknesses. It is commendable that the government is acknowledging this honestly – a necessary step in deriving the right strategies to position Germany as a leading hub for AI.”
At the same time, according to Süme, such technology-focused initiatives must be underpinned by a broad educational foundation – something that is still underrepresented in the current High-Tech Agenda. eco is therefore calling for a strong commitment to digital education and comprehensive AI skills initiatives across the board.
From Süme’s perspective, it is also vital to address the digital divide between eastern and western Germany when it comes to the use of Artificial Intelligence. The latest eco Industry Pulse has shown a growing divergence in the uptake of future technologies: while 71.2 percent of companies in western Germany are already using AI, this figure drops significantly to around 52 percent in the east. Moreover, 72 percent of IT decision-makers in Germany rate the status of digital transformation as poor to very poor – with one third awarding it a failing grade of 6.
“The High-Tech Agenda can contribute to ensuring that Germany does not devolve into a two-tier digital economy,” said Süme. “Industry associations must be actively involved in the ongoing implementation of this agenda.”
