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It doesn't have to be a robot:
Artificial intelligence can be used in many areas of the company, for example in the automation of processes
Photo: DPA
In the course of the increasing digitization of companies, the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) is also increasingly coming to the fore.
So far, at 6 percent, very few German companies have used these self-learning, digital systems.
Companies that use artificial intelligence can generate around 25 percent more profit.
This is the result of a study by ZEW Mannheim on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), which was published in December 2020.
For the study, data from around 300,000 German companies were analyzed, which were collected as part of the Mannheim Innovation Panel in 2019.
As the study shows, the use of AI has clearly positive effects on companies' returns.
The return on sales in companies that use AI is 6.4 percent, 1.3 percentage points higher than that of companies that do without it.
In addition, the innovative strength of companies increases.
"Through artificial intelligence, companies are better able to produce sophisticated innovations with a high degree of novelty," explains the author of the study, ZEW economist Christian Remmer.
The use of AI, for example, increases the number of German companies developing world market innovations by almost 4 percent.
Icon: enlarge Photo: ZEW Mannheim
The success of the AI use also depends crucially on the area for which the system is used.
The study differentiates between language understanding, image recognition, machine learning and knowledge-based systems.
Of these four categories, the greatest contribution to innovation comes from the field of image recognition.
With regard to the area of application - a distinction is made here between products / services, processes, customer communication, data analysis and other areas - it is most likely to achieve innovation successes with the help of AI applications in the area of process automation.
In addition, the longer and more complex a company uses AI, the greater the success.
AI creates more employment
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It is also relevant who developed the AI process.
According to the study, the greatest successes in innovation are achieved with processes that have mainly been developed by external service providers.
But a combination with internal development is also promising.
The sole internal development of AI processes is only recommended if service innovations or new production processes are introduced, as internal knowledge is an advantage here.
In his study, ZEW economist Remmer also points out that the turnover of companies that use AI is not increasing.
This means that sales with AI-based innovations only replace sales that were previously achieved with products without the use of AI.
Remmer was also unable to determine any increase in productivity.
He attributes this to the fact that processes at the beginning of the use of new AI applications have to be implemented and have not yet been optimized.
In contrast, the study clearly points to the macroeconomic advantages of artificial intelligence.
So, contrary to the often suspected negative effect on employment, AI even creates more employment.
In 2018, a total of around 48,000 new jobs were created through the use of AI.
"We are observing an increase in employment, particularly in small to medium-sized companies," explains Christian Remmer. The companies would probably hire specialists in order to be able to use AI in the first place.
Due to the immense technological progress in the area of computing power, it is now economically possible for more and more companies to invest in AI solutions.
The study data shows that it can be worthwhile.
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