A representative survey commissioned by the digital association Bitkom among 603 companies with 20 or more employees in Germany examines the mood in the business world with regard to the use of generative AI systems such as ChatGPT.
The AI-based chatbot ChatGPT developed by OpenAI triggered a veritable hype around generative AI at the end of 2022. Generative artificial intelligence refers to AI that is able to generate suitable text, image or audio files in response to input requests. The high quality of the solutions generated by ChatGPT for complex issues such as reformulating and summarising texts or writing programme code reveals the great potential of generative AI.
The interest of companies in utilising comparable AI systems is correspondingly high. For example, 17% of companies are currently actively planning to use generative AI, while a further 23% can imagine using it in the future in principle. In contrast, 29% of the companies surveyed explicitly rule out the use of AI. A quarter of the companies have not yet addressed this issue.
On average, knowledge of ChatGPT is well developed in company management. 42% of the managers surveyed can explain the topic of generative AI well. A further 41% have at least a rough idea and only 16% have heard of it, but cannot describe in more detail what it is about.
There is heterogeneity in the assessment of the future relevance of applications such as ChatGPT. A majority of 56% of companies see generative AI as the biggest digital revolution since the smartphone. however, 40% of the companies surveyed believe that the current discussions surrounding ChatGPT are merely short-lived hype.
Opinions on the impact of generative AI on the labour market vary accordingly. A slight majority of 51% expect a lower demand for personnel. 40% even see the possibility that entire occupational groups will no longer be needed in the future. In contrast, 44% share the more employee-friendly view that AI will relieve employees of routine tasks in the future instead of replacing them.
