- Almost one in two executives say that AI will stimulate growth in Germany
- Older executives are generally more optimistic than young executives
- The majority expect key measures from the government
Will artificial intelligence stimulate the German economy or will the technology’s rapid development make it lose ground? A recent representative survey commissioned by DMEXCO has revealed that Germany’s business elite are cautiously optimistic. Almost one in two executives (46.5%) believe that AI will increase Germany’s economic performance in the coming years. 17 percent even think that this increase will be significant. The skeptics are in the minority, with only 14.5 percent of the 2,000 decision-makers surveyed predicting a decrease. Around one in four (23.8%) do not see any direct correlation between AI and economic growth (see Chart 1).
Interestingly, the majority of the decision-makers expect key measures from the government (see Chart 2). The funding of partnerships between research and business (34.1%) and the curtailment of current regulations (27.3%) are at the top of the list. Government investments in AI research (21.1%), tax reliefs for AI investments (14.6%), and even tax increases for foreign AI companies (9.2%) are also supported. However, a minority (30.8%) do not believe that any of these measures would be effective.
“Germany is ideally positioned when it comes to AI research. It’s just as important to leverage the findings from that research in an economic context and use them as a basis to develop successful business models. Only when we establish strong partnerships between research and business will we be able to turn AI into a growth driver for Germany. We need to ensure that the AI expertise we acquire in Germany promotes our country’s economic development,” says Verena Gründel, Brand & Communications Director at DMEXCO. “At this year’s DMEXCO with its ‘Prompting the Future’ motto, we hope to bridge the gap between AI development and trailblazing implementation.”
Dirk Freytag, President of the German Association for the Digital Economy (BVDW), emphasizes that “Germany has everything it needs to play its part in shaping the third phase of digital transformation. That’s also reflected in how the executives estimate the country’s economic performance. For that to happen, our companies need legal certainty. We have to piece together the digital puzzle. That also needs to be done on a political level by reducing bureaucracy and harmonizing the main laws. The goal needs to be a competitive economy that shapes the future of our country and beyond, with and through technology.”
One in three young executives support the curtailment of AI regulations
How much will artificial intelligence drive Germany’s economic performance and what role should the government play here? The answer to these questions depends on the respondent’s age. Generally, the older the executive, the more optimistic their outlook (see Chart 3). For example, 52.6 percent of decision-makers in the 40-49 age group think that AI will stimulate economic growth, while only 43.7 percent of high potentials (aged between 18 and 29) are of the same opinion. What’s even more striking is that about one in three (31.8%) of these young executives (under 29 years) predict a decline in the German economy as a result of global AI competition – in contrast to only one in ten of the more experienced executives (see Chart 4). 32 percent of the high potentials think that the government should ideally curtail regulations, whereas only 22.6 percent of those aged 40 to 49 support that measure.
About the survey
Commissioned by DMEXCO, market research company Civey surveyed a total of 2,000 private-sector executives online between July 18 and August 3, 2024. The results are representative due to quotas and weightings, taking into account the statistical error of 4.1 and 4.2 percentage points in the respective overall result.
The charts for this survey are available here.
You can find more image material here.
