How the German government is going all in on AI (www.dw.com)

Germany’s new “Modernization Agenda,” building on the earlier “High‑Tech Agenda,” commits the federal government to wide AI adoption across administration and public services — aiming to cut bureaucracy costs by 25% by 2029, move more services online, speed visa processing via AI document review, and launch an export‑services platform for rules and credit options. The program includes high‑visibility pilots such as the multilingual “Weimatar” avatar for outreach and internal training, plus state and municipal pilots (Baden‑Württemberg’s text‑streamlining and Ludwigsburg chatbot, Cologne traffic planning, Munich waste routing, Heidelberg hospital diagnostics). Ministers Karsten Wildberger and Dorothee Bär frame AI as central to growth and infrastructure modernization; proponents say targeted, process‑specific models can relieve staff shortages and boost efficiency as demographic pressures mount. Experts stress opportunities but warn of hype, weak oversight and sovereignty risks. RWTH’s Holger Hoos and other AI academics urge science‑led policy, problem‑specific systems, and mandatory human review for sensitive cases (health, justice, immigration). Germany’s strong data‑protection rules (limits on retention, access, deletion) complicate public‑sector AI, and a new SAP–OpenAI deal fuels concerns about dependence on opaque US providers and unclear data access. The takeaway for practitioners: expect accelerated funding and deployment opportunities, especially for narrow, audit‑friendly models that optimize bureaucratic processes — but anticipate regulatory scrutiny, mandatory transparency, and debates over tech sovereignty.