By Happy Birthday, ChatGPT! Two years ago, on 30 November 2022, the first public version of the chatbot went online. Since then, generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has been transforming our lives. Its impact has been more rapid and extensive than any previous tech innovation, as it diffuses into every aspect of the economy and society – whether it’s reshaping computers, household appliances, machine tools, vehicles, or entire business processes. Few technologies fit the term „disruptive“ as aptly as GenAI.
The tool itself wasn’t entirely new at the time, but was based on a large language model (LLM) that had been developed in previous years. GenAI was still seen as an experimental and research field, of little interest to the general public. This changed abruptly with ChatGPT, as users could now „converse“ and ask questions. The answers were still error-prone. But they improved month by month.
New models keep arriving
Within five days, the platform had over one million users. Twitter took two years to reach this milestone. By December, the number had risen to 100 million users. ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer internet platform ever.
Large companies like Microsoft seized the opportunity to integrate AI into their applications, followed by others such as Adobe, Google, and Apple. Alongside OpenAI’s ChatGPT, there are now numerous other language models available to private users, businesses, and the scientific community, including Google’s Gemini, Meta’s Llama, Anthropic’s Claude, Apple Intelligence, and Mistral from France.
AI crossing all boundaries
The disruptive power of AI is now tangible in the economy: AI helps with automation, customer contact, summarisation, process optimisation, text and image analysis, acts as an author, and breaks through media boundaries. AI creates photos, audio, and videos. It’s found in machines, computers, and robots.
AI is set to cause upheaval in established economic structures, redefine customer and competitive relationships, and shake the competitiveness of companies and even entire industries. At the same time, it opens up opportunities for new companies to rise to unprecedented heights. The competition and location landscape is being reshuffled. A new game!
One in five companies uses AI
Domestic companies have acknowledged this trend, and AI technologies are progressively being integrated. According to a survey by the Federal Statistical Office, one in five companies reported using artificial intelligence, up from 12% in last year’s survey. Companies have long moved beyond the initial stages. Now, it’s about carving out their business areas and becoming more productive with AI, which will ultimately also affect jobs. Some professions may face existential threats.
According to the survey, AI technologies are most commonly used for the analysis of written language (48%), and speech recognition (47%). The main applications are in marketing and sales (33%). Additionally, companies use AI for production and service processes (25%), for organising their administration (24%), and for bookkeeping (24%).
Those who have opted not to use AI cite a lack of knowledge (71%), uncertainty about legal consequences (58%), and concerns about data protection (53%). Around one in five non-users (21%) believe AI is not useful for their company.
Germany must keep up
Given the disruptive power of AI, it’s even more important that Germany, after falling behind in digitalization, does not miss the leap to AI technology. After all, it was German IT experts who laid the groundwork for GenAI and helped propel machine learning forward. The country’s economic foundation offers good starting opportunities: technical education, excellence clusters at universities, and solid infrastructure. However, that’s not enough. Complaints about bureaucratic hurdles, cumbersome (federal) data protection laws, insufficient computing power, and narrow bandwidth connections are widespread, and university salary structures make it hard to attract top researchers. Many are leaving.
Looking at international comparisons in the field of AI, a tool from Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI) shows that Germany’s position isn’t as strong as often claimed. In a study of 36 countries, Germany ranks only 8th – depending on how certain factors are weighted, it could even fall further behind. The US and China dominate the top spots, followed by the UK, India, the UAE, France, and South Korea.
The study examined factors such as research and development (R&D), current AI adoption in companies, regulatory frameworks, and the training of individuals in this technology. While Germany performs above average in R&D and education, there is apparently a need for improvement in infrastructure, public openness, and political frameworks.
