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German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has called on the economy to catch up with new technologies such as artificial intelligence.
“Over the past 20 years we have not produced a Google, an Apple or an Alibaba. This must not happen with AI,” Habeck told the German newspaper Rheinische Post. “We must see new technologies as an opportunity: CCS, AI, hydrogen. No longer a culture war against the electric car, but clarity and reliability.”
Habeck referred to the economic reports of former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and the Federation of German Industries, embracing their demands for more investment. “Improving the framework conditions is necessary, but investments are needed – in infrastructure, education, universities, transformation and security,” he said. “The Federation of German Industries has made a good proposal here for a special fund. The situation is serious, but our country and our economy have great strengths. We just have to work hard now to make them fit for the future.”
Former Italian Prime Minister and former President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, had previously stressed the need for the European economy to become significantly more innovative in order not to lose global competition.
The EU faces an “existential challenge,” Draghi, 77, wrote in a report commissioned by the European Commission about a year ago, explaining that if the domestic economy does not become more productive, people will have to reduce their aspirations, for example regarding climate protection, the development of innovative technologies, or their own social model.
