"We are obviously doing too well in Germany at the moment to realize that the swan song for Germany as an industrial location has already begun." Ansgar Hinz, CEO of the VDE, opens the press conference at the trade fair with these rousing words and continues: "Especially when it comes to future technologies, methods and cross-sectional skills such as AI, we are at best mediocre compared to the rest of the world!" Hinz draws the justification for this industry pessimism from the latest survey of 1,350 VDE member companies and universities. According to the survey, Germany is lagging behind the leading AI nations - above all China and the USA. Only 10% of companies and 7% of universities are convinced that our universities can keep up with the USA and China in AI research. Hinz: "There is a lack of investment, infrastructure and, above all, experts!"

USA, China and Japan lead the way in AI

Too little investment and expert know-how are slowing Germany down in (industrial) AI.

© VDE

Currently, the USA, closely followed by China and Japan, are ahead in the field of AI. Israel and Korea are also ahead of Germany, which brings up the rear with Europe. As evidence, Hinz presents the number of patent applications for AI: 60% of all patent applications on AI worldwide come from the USA - led by the usual suspects: Microsoft, Alphabet, Intel, Apple, Amazon - closely followed by China and South Korea. According to Hinz, only Siemens manages to rank 16th among German companies.

Six out of ten respondents expect industrial AI to be implemented in China and the USA by 2025, while the majority in Germany expect it to be implemented later. For 71% of companies, the number one factor holding back Germany as a business location is the lack of knowledge about AI, followed by a shortage of skilled workers and legal hurdles (just under 50%). Universities are also plagued by a lack of specialists (67%), a lack of expertise and a lack of budget (53% each). 59% of companies and one in two universities are convinced that Germany and Europe, compared to the USA and China, do not provide sufficient resources for the implementation of revolutionary technical changes.

Industry 4.0 - Germany is weakening

But Hinz goes even further: Asian competitors - China, Japan and South Korea - are also well ahead in the Industry 4.0 innovation ranking. "Germany is only in the middle of the field, with Europe bringing up the rear," concludes the CEO, before going on to explain: "The basic problem is that German industry has long rested on its status quo and has therefore simply missed the boat in many areas compared to the USA and China, which are driving digitalization at all levels," says Ansgar Hinz, explaining the negative mood among those surveyed. 60% of universities and 50% of companies are convinced of this. They also believe that the industry is struggling to develop revolutionary business models with the help of digitalization. "To put it in a nutshell: We have to get out of our comfort zone," demands the VDE boss. To achieve this, various adjustments need to be made, above all in terms of innovation excellence, industry convergence and our willingness to take risks.