"For Berlin with its diverse ecosystem, AI offers the opportunity to make our economy strong for the future."

With its wealth of research institutions, networks and smart start-ups, Berlin continues to secure the top position in Germany in 2024 when it comes to artificial intelligence and will play a leading role in the race for global innovation locations. But how are companies in Berlin actually integrating this key technology into their processes? The latest digitization survey by the Berlin Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) (in German) sees the city on the right track, but also points to untapped potential for the future. #ai_berlin spoke to IHK Berlin President Sebastian Stietzel about the importance of AI for companies, the Berlin AI ecosystem and its players as well as the “Future Forum AI”, which aims to create a platform for exchange between business, science and politics in November.

Mr. Stietzel, how do you see the importance of artificial intelligence for the future of Berlin as a business location? What specific opportunities does the technology offer for companies here in the capital?

Artificial intelligence is more than just a technological trend for Berlin; it is a fundamental building block for the future viability of our economy. We need to understand AI as one of the key technologies of our time, which has the potential to fundamentally change the way companies and even administration operate and enable new business models. Especially for Berlin, with its dynamic start-up scene, numerous tech talents and strong scientific infrastructure, AI offers the opportunity to use this innovative power for sustainable growth and prosperity in the city.

In addition, AI gives reason to stay positive about the vast potential of this city, especially in the current tense economic and budgetary situation. We should not make the mistake of seeing AI as a panacea for the world's crises. But in any case, the technology has been accompanied by a spirit of optimism that we have been missing for a long time: Many companies see the possibilities of how AI can further optimize and automate their processes, how customer experiences can be personalized and new markets opened up. This is also shown by our latest IHK digitalization survey, in which a third of the companies surveyed stated that they are already actively using AI. That is twice as many as a year ago. A further third plan to use it within the next three years.

Internationally, there is strong competition for talent and investment in the AI sector. Where is Berlin positioned here compared to other innovation centers and what needs to be done to remain competitive in the long term?

In an international comparison, Berlin is in a good position, but there is still a lot to do to stay at the top. The latest appliedAI study has once again confirmed that Berlin is the German AI startup capital. In addition, there are various research institutes and universities working on a wide range of AI topics here. This lively and international AI community in Berlin creates a great attraction and is also a huge locational advantage in global competition. Some large corporations have deliberately opened their AI hubs or labs in Berlin for this reason and we also hear from AI start-ups that they have chosen Berlin because they find a larger talent pool here for the realization of their ideas and their growth.

However, with all the radiance that Berlin currently exudes as a global metropolis and AI hotspot, we must not allow other location factors to undermine this momentum. Housing shortages, slow bureaucracy and crumbling infrastructure must be consistently addressed. And despite tight budgets, we need investment: We need to further expand education and research in key technologies and skills and intensify cooperation between science and business. To this end, we must ensure that start-ups can still find the support and funding in Berlin throughout various growth phases in order to remain in the city and not migrate to the USA or UK. Initiatives such as the planned innovation and start-up center UNITE can be a key to this.

Increasing the recruitment of AI talent is one thing; providing further training opportunities for specialists is another important focus. You offer various courses and certificates for SMEs, such as AI Managers or AI Scouts. What skills do you want participants to acquire and how is the program being received?

Even if there are wild future scenarios here and there, nowadays we are primarily talking about AI tools and the associated new technical possibilities for automating work processes or supporting employees. On the one hand, this means that every AI needs clearly defined tasks and areas of application and, on the other hand, a competent person behind it who knows how to use and/or develop these AI tools in a targeted manner.

The IHK Berlin has therefore continuously expanded its training and further education program in the field of AI in recent months. On the one hand, our courses teach basic skills for understanding AI technologies, their possible applications and the safe use of AI in day-to-day business. On the other hand, participants learn to recognize AI potential for their respective companies and business processes, develop strategies and projects and implement specific applications themselves. Some of the AI courses, such as “AI Manager”, are still relatively new to the program, but the feedback from participants so far has been consistently positive and we are seeing a growing demand for these qualifications.

With the Digital Education Lab at the Ludwig Erhard Haus, we have also created a place where business, science and educational institutions can exchange ideas and network on digital solutions for training and further education and qualification. There is a lot in the pipeline here, particularly in the area of AI skills and their transfer, and we are working with various partners to offer Berlin companies the broadest and most exciting portfolio possible.

The “Future Forum AI” will take place for the first time on November 6, 2024. What goals are you pursuing with this event, what thematic focus will there be and what expectations do you have of the event in terms of strengthening Berlin's AI ecosystem?

With our all-day “Future Forum AI”, we want to make the great potential of Berlin as an AI location visible and create a platform for exchange between business, science and politics. Of course, there are many events in the capital again this fall and various conferences dealing with AI topics are also coming up. What sets our Future Forum AI apart, however, is that we are bringing the political discussions and talks on AI applications down to the Berlin level and taking a very concrete look at what is happening here in the capital - and what else should happen.

We've already talked about how promising Berlin is thanks to its cutting-edge AI research, diverse start-up community and innovative SMEs. We now need to bring these strands and clever minds together so that we in Berlin don't just think in individual silos, but see this outstanding AI ecosystem as a network of strong partners. As the IHK Berlin, this is precisely our task: we want to build bridges and create framework conditions so that business, science and politics can talk to each other and actively shape the future of the AI location. We are therefore particularly pleased that the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner, and Dr. Anna Christmann, BMWK Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Start-ups, will enrich the Future Forum with their perspectives. We also have two cooperation partners on board, BIFOLD and K.I.E.Z., with whom we have been able to attract many great speakers from the Berlin AI research and start-up scene.

In addition to political discussions, the focus will be on networking and knowledge transfer between Berlin stakeholders, where exciting AI innovations made in Berlin and fields of application for the economy will be presented. What can participants expect?

Exactly, at the Future Forum we don't just want to talk about AI in the abstract, of course, but above all offer our guests from Berlin's business community the opportunity to find out about very specific AI fields of application and innovative AI solutions in the corporate context and to exchange ideas. The Future Forum offers an exciting lecture and workshop program with a total of over 50 speakers on three stages, in which we will address, for example, how SMEs can use generative AI, how AI can support production and manufacturing or how we can use AI to make business processes more sustainable - and all of this with great innovations “made in Berlin”.

In addition, an exhibition area awaits you in our passage in the Ludwig-Erhard-Haus, where important Berlin multipliers, AI research projects and support services for SMEs will be presented. And, of course, we would like to invite our guests to use the day to hold interesting discussions and network with each other outside of the official program. So: register now! Participation is free of charge.

In conclusion: With a technology as rapidly developing as artificial intelligence, forecasts are often difficult, but let's take a look into the near future anyway: what result would you like to see from an IHK study on the digitalization of Berlin's economy in 2030?

When we conduct our annual IHK digitization survey of the Berlin economy in 2030, I hope that Berlin will have consolidated its position as a leading digital innovation location, with a flourishing economy that continues to grow and thrive through the use of AI. Perhaps we will no longer need to ask about AI projects in companies separately, but AI will be so widespread that we will see it as a natural feature of digital processes. However, it would be just as important for digital education and the teaching of digital core skills to have kept pace so that schoolchildren, employees and management can use AI technologies safely, efficiently and creatively in 2030.

Many thanks for speaking to us.