Software

Bitkom: One in four companies is dealing with the AI Act

September 9, 2024. The AI Act has been in force since the beginning of August. So far, however, only around a quarter (24%) of companies in Germany have dealt with the new EU-wide regulatory framework for artificial intelligence. 21% are currently dealing with it, while only 3% have already dealt with the AI Act in depth. A further 29% at least intend to deal with it in the future. At the same time, however, 16% say that they will not deal with the AI Act in the future – and around one in four companies (24%) have never heard of the long-discussed EU regulation. These are the results of a survey of 602 companies from all sectors commissioned by the digital association Bitkom.

Symbolic image of artificial intelligence (AI) / pixabay geralt

Tags

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digitalization

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“Companies should get to grips with the AI Act – and at an early stage. The AI Act lays down rules for providers and operators of AI systems and models, including all companies that do not develop an AI system themselves, but have it developed or use a standard AI on the market,” says Bitkom President Dr. Ralf Wintergerst. “AI will find its way into more and more applications and more and more companies. The AI Act is binding for everyone and this also applies if individual employees use AI without the company’s knowledge.”

The business community is divided when it comes to assessing the AI Act

There is still a great deal of uncertainty in the business community as to what consequences the AI Act will have. 62% of companies say that the AI Act will make the development and use of AI legally secure. 53 percent assume that it will increase trust in AI. Conversely, 45% fear that the AI Act will hinder the development of AI in Europe, while 41% believe that it will hinder the use of AI in Europe. A large majority of 69% of companies believe that they need help in dealing with the AI Act. Wintergerst: “We must not repeat the mistakes of the General Data Protection Regulation with the AI Act. The existing and newly created supervisory and market surveillance authorities must not only control and sanction, they must above all provide assistance on how artificial intelligence can be developed and used in Germany in compliance with the law.”

Bitkom hosts AI & Data Summit and Quantum Summit

The opportunities and challenges of the AI Act will also be the focus of Bitkom’s AI & Data Summit on 25 and 26 September at Kosmos in Berlin. In addition to keynotes and panels, the focus will be on practical knowledge transfer in workshops. The event will take place together with the Quantum Summit at Kosmos Berlin. All information about the program is available online at aidaq.berlin.

Note on methodology

The information is based on a survey conducted by Bitkom Research on behalf of the digital association Bitkom. This involved 602 companies with 20 or more employees in Germany being surveyed by telephone. The survey took place in the period from week 23 to week 30 2024. The survey is representative of the economy as a whole. The questions were: “Have you already dealt with the AI Act in your company?” and “To what extent do the following statements on AI and the AI Act apply to your company or in your opinion?”

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