Artificial intelligence will bring huge changes to modern life, but at the Industrial Fair in Germany, many companies want to know how they can adapt to the technological revolution.
“We kind of use Chatgpt,” a business representative from southern Germany’s metal processor shrugged on Hannover Messe this week.
The expo grouped 4,000 companies promise tourists to “experience the future” and explore the practical applications of AI in areas such as production, robotics and energy at their own pace.”
A striking display – a huge Rolls-Royce aircraft engine optimized by AI from Microsoft and German company Siemens, attracting many curious onlookers.
But off the market, small and medium-sized enterprises (small and medium-sized enterprises) are the backbone of the German economy – the so-called glove table – usually there are very few statements about this.
Herz Aetztechnik’s Andrea Raaf uses lasers to make vehicles and electronic parts, and he says AI doesn’t fit the job.
“The parts we make are very personal, so we really don’t see what AI means,” she told AFP.
Others are more involved, including the family-owned Koerner Electric, which says has been using AI for the past three years.
Its technical director Dennis Koerner stood in front of the custom circuit board and said AI has helped with the manufacturing process and analyzed optical and electrical measurements.
“We wrote a small AI that generates programming faster,” Koerner said.
“It is necessary to achieve faster, more stable results without requiring a few employees to work.”
– Lagging behind –
Once synonymous with high technology, the German industry knows that it lags behind our competition with China when digital technology that will dominate the next century.
Many German companies are still uncertain how to use fast-growing technologies in the high-end engineering they specialize in.
“It is important not to shy away from introducing AI,” said Agnes Heftberger, managing director of Microsoft Germany. “Otherwise, Germany will find itself behind in the face of international competition.”
So-called “AI Agents” also appeared at the expo, where these systems automatically perform tasks from writing code to assisting conversations.
Microsoft provides systems that put machine data into simple language and determine maintenance requirements in advance.
However, Danish subcontractors in the Danish pharmaceutical industry confirmed that A/S automation engineer Loke Olsen is skeptical about the potential errors of AI and its ability to correct itself.
“We have to make sure that AI works 100% because we have to comply with very strict health regulations,” he told AFP.
For some, cost is a problem. Kona said it seems that “we can hardly afford” some of the AI products displayed at the expo.
– “Change the rules of the game” –
A Microsoft survey found that almost half of German industrial companies use AI for certain business functions, but most people are less willing to use it to develop their products.
A study by the Society of Mechanics VDMA said that only 7% of machine manufacturers plan to use generative AI to help product design.
“There are some initial attempts, but the investment is still too low,” said Guido Reimann, deputy managing director of VDMA Software and Digitalization.
Research has found that by optimizing efficiency and increasing sales, Genai can increase annual profits for the industry by billions of euros.
But while 52% of managers view AI as a potential “game-changer,” it says, “it’s been used so far usually only to experimental or proof-of-concept projects.”
The primary concerns listed are the lack of data quality, the shortage of AI experts and the technical challenges.
Germany’s Fraunhofer Research Institute has been touring Germany since 2023, showing manufacturers’ concrete AI applications from woodworking to healthcare.
“This often helps connect with smaller companies with each other because AI always works with data,” said Institute spokeswoman Juliane Segedi.
“The more data you have, the better the AI will become. If you have similar problems to solve, you can aggregate the data to provide a solution that will be beneficial to everyone.”
There are other challenges. Many people worry that AI will steal their jobs one day.
Segedi said the important step would convince unions not to “see AI as a threat but something that can contribute to their ideas.
kas-vbw/fz/rl/jfx
