Tech & Innovation

KI, GenAI, OpenAI, LLM – Those Who Don't Participate Are Left Behind.

Florian Schroeder Portraitfoto Florian Schröder

20. May 2025 | 5 min.

The hype surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be unbroken and expectations are high. According to a Bitkom study from 2023, 79 percent of the population are convinced that AI will strengthen the competitiveness of the German economy. But what does this mean in specific terms for companies in Germany?

The topic of AI was discussed at almost every event I attended last year. In this blog article, I would like to share my insights from these events from discussions with our customers and partners. I will focus on three key questions in particular:

1) As a company, can I afford not to engage with the topic of AI?
2) How can AI have a direct positive impact on my company’s value creation?
3) How do I position my company regarding the introduction of AI?

AI - a New Playing Field

Before I go into the three questions in detail, I would like to explain how current terms and their meaning are categorised. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is basically a general and overarching term that describes the functionality of a machine or computer that imitates human abilities (thinking, learning, planning, creating). ^*1

But how does an AI system know what it knows? In this context, we talk about ‘teaching’ and ‘training’ an AI model. This involves training the AI system for one or more tasks using a large amount of data and a wide variety of techniques (supervised learning, unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning).^*2

3 Levels of Artificial Intelligence

In order to assess the true capabilities of an Artificial Intelligence, it is necessary to understand how ‘intelligent’ it really is. ^*3

Level 1 – Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI)

This is typically an AI system that answers questions, creates texts, produces translations or creates content (images, speech, video). This form of AI is trained to perform tasks for us and to support us in our daily routines. It recognises similarities and patterns within the trained data and provides appropriate results according to the question. This AI is also known as weak AI, as it cannot solve any problems or questions independently. A result must be available in the data.

Level 2 – Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)

AI systems categorised at this level can solve complex tasks and problems for which there are no predefined solutions. They can make decisions and think abstractly and justify their solutions accordingly. This level of AI is also referred to as General Cognitive Intelligence, Human-level AI or Strong AI. ^*4 Researchers assume that General Artificial Intelligence can be expected in 5-20 years. ^*5

Level 3 – Artificial Superintelligence (ASI)

Artificial Superintelligence is still a purely theoretical construct and a dream of the future. It is an Artificial Intelligence that has self-awareness. It is capable of solving problems independently, making decisions for the future and exceeding the intelligence and capabilities of the human brain, as well as developing independently. Sam Altman, founder and CEO of OpenAI, writes in his blog: ‘It is possible that we will have Superintelligence in a few thousand days (!); it may take longer, but I’m confident we’ll get there.’ ^*6

As a Company, Can I Afford Not to Engage with the Topic of AI?

My discussions with decision-makers from the IT industry have shown that the shortage of skilled labour and demographic change are currently the most pressing issues and therefore have a decisive influence on the use of AI.

Back in 2017, a McKinsey study predicted for Germany that we would have to focus on AI-based automation simply due to the ageing population in order to achieve our gross domestic product targets. These targets go hand in hand with an increase in productivity with fewer skilled workers. AI-supported automation, especially in everyday tasks, will therefore be one of the most important mechanisms for increasing productivity. ^*7 According to the German Federal Statistical Office, 12.9 million of the ‘labour force’ will reach the legal retirement age in the next 15 years. ^*8

In a Nutshell

No! A company cannot afford to go without AI-supported systems. The ongoing shortage of skilled labour and demographic change alone make automation crucial.

How Can AI Have a Direct Positive Impact on My Company's Value Creation?

One especially exciting and illustrative example is the automation of the service desk. The use of AI and intelligent automation tools is already making service processes more efficient. Automation rates of up to 90% are predicted. ^*7

A prominent example of this is the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency). It has a particularly urgent need for action in order to master future challenges. Of the approximately 115,000 employees, it is estimated that 35% will retire or leave the Federal Employment Agency by 2032. The solution lies in the use of AI and new language models. In the future, they will take over service requests as far as possible by enabling the models to ‘generate texts and answer questions in a similar quality to a human’. In order to realise this, the Federal Employment Agency has developed an AI platform and signed a framework agreement worth 19 million euros over the next four years with the start-up Aleph Alpha. The task now is to ‘further digitalise the processes consistently and automate them with AI’, says Stefan Latuski (CIO of the Federal Employment Agency). ^*9

In a Nutshell

A direct impact is created where (recurring) activities can be (fully) automated. AI trained for a specific use case can provide particularly targeted support and deliver significant added value.

How Do I Position My Company Regarding the Introduction of AI?

We need good ideas on how AI can enrich business and everyday life. Without any complicated concepts! And the positive thing is that I have seen in recent weeks and months that there are already great ideas in many sectors.

But how do companies manage to utilise the potential of AI in combination with these ideas? By starting small! A lean, clearly defined use case is a good starting point. If this is specifically automated with the help of AI, it quickly becomes clear what potential the technology has in practical use. Together with the employees, practical expertise is built up and initial experience in the use of AI is gained. The active involvement of specialists and their feedback play a key role.

In this way, measurable results can be achieved quickly. The next step is to identify other processes that are also suitable for automation using AI. Step-by-step optimisations have a direct impact on operational efficiency and competitiveness. In addition, smaller areas of application can be supported more effectively.

Successful internal application examples form the basis for focussing on value-added processes and continuing with this approach. Further development steps towards complex structures and processes are then created automatically. With each successful implementation, the collective knowledge, the acceptance within the company and the willingness to actively help shape the change grow.

In a Nutshell

Companies should start at a low entry level. It is easier to get started if they begin with simple internal, manual processes and then automate them using AI technology. In this way, companies can gradually take on the complex processes.
My tip: Start small and work your way up.

AI or No AI - That's Not the Question

It’s interesting how everyone has an opinion on AI technologies. That’s a good thing. Because that’s the only way we can get into the necessary discussions. I would like to thank everyone for the input I have been able to gather at the conferences over the past few months. I look to the future with optimism.

My conclusion is: continuously ask, optimise and digitalise your processes and use the possibilities of AI technology – especially to reduce manual, repetitive activities to a minimum. Start small and grow. There is enough to automate. And if these are solutions that bring direct benefits for employees and are easy to use, you will quickly see a high level of acceptance and added value for your company.

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