A clear majority of Germans (60 percent) would like to see more use of industrial AI, for example in the manufacture of cars or aircraft. More than two-thirds of Germans are also in favor of AI-based solutions in the diagnosis of machine faults and in high-tech areas such as space travel.

The data can be found in the “Bosch AI Future Compass”, for which 1,000 Germans aged 18 and over were asked about their attitude to artificial intelligence. “Germany and Europe have what it takes to be a world leader in industrial AI,” said Dr. Michael Bolle, Bosch board of management member and Chief Digital Officer and Chief Technology Officer, today at the digital presentation of the “Bosch AI Future Compass”. Especially when it comes to AI use in industrial environments, for example in quality control, to improve energy efficiency or manufacturing efficiency, the specialist and domain knowledge is unique in Germany and Europe, said Bolle. In this respect, the relatively high approval of industrial AI is encouraging: “For the German and European business location, the support of the population and the decisive institutions is of enormous importance.

In other areas of application, such as nursing or investment advice, approval rates for AI deployment are significantly lower, at 40 percent and 31 percent respectively. Germans also trust a human being much more than a machine when it comes to legal decisions or the pre-selection of candidates for an open position. Across all areas, 53 percent of Germans rate the use of AI positively, while 36 percent have a rather negative attitude.

This is why clear, morally based guidelines are needed not only in Germany but also at the European level. Bosch had already set itself a clear ethical framework at the beginning of the year with an AI code of conduct, according to the company’s technology and digital boss: “We have made a clear commitment that AI should serve people and not the other way around. People must always be in control of AI”.

Two thirds of the survey participants demand that artificial intelligence should only serve the common good. Likewise, around two thirds would like to see decisions on the legal and ethical standards for the use of AI made at the international level (38 percent globally and 27 percent in Europe), while only 35 percent are in favour of a national strategy. And 85 percent of those surveyed demand that humans should be the last resort in the use of artificial intelligence.

According to the “Bosch AI Future Compass”, a majority of Germans (53 percent) think that the use of artificial intelligence is necessary for companies to survive in international competition. 42 percent of those surveyed believe that major problems, such as diseases or climate change, can be better solved by artificial intelligence.

Irrespective of their basic attitude towards AI, those surveyed are largely in agreement about the opportunities and risks. The most frequently cited benefits include keywords such as “efficiency”, “progress” and “better (work) results”, while terms such as “surveillance”, “insensitivity” or “lack of data protection” top the negative scale.

“The Bosch AI Future Compass shows that we need to talk even more about artificial intelligence,” says Michael Bolle: “Customers and users need to be able to understand the basis on which an AI makes certain decisions. This is a discourse that should be conducted on a social level, and not just on an economic level.

The “Bosch AI Future Compass” shows The more pronounced the knowledge in the field of AI, the higher its acceptance among the population. For example, 81 percent of all respondents who consider themselves to have an affinity for technology and who, in their own opinion, have sound knowledge in the field, rate artificial intelligence as fundamentally positive. In the group of those who consider themselves to have little affinity for technology and are rather uninformed, the approval rate is only 27 percent.

“Opportunities and risks of every AI must be discussed openly and on the basis of facts,” says Bolle. For a constructive and unprejudiced exchange, he said, it was necessary to improve the way artificial intelligence functions. “AI must be included in the school curriculum,” said Bolle, “at least as a voluntary additional offer.

Bosch is also acting: Within the next two years, the company will train 20,000 associates in AI. Bosch is also planning to have AI in all Bosch products from 2025, so that they can be developed or manufactured. “This is not about using AI as an end in itself – but about further increasing the quality and benefits of our solutions for customers and users,” says Michael Bolle.