Status: 04.01.2022 3:52 p.m.
Many Germans are still skeptical of modern technologies. People from China or the USA, on the other hand, see it completely differently.
In Germany, people are comparatively wary of technical progress. This is the result of a survey published today by the Robert Bosch Stiftung. The company-affiliated foundation surveyed around 8,000 people in China, India, Germany, Great Britain and the USA for the survey.
According to this, only half of the respondents in Germany believe that new technologies could make the world a better place. On average, 72 percent of all respondents said that they expect new technology to improve the situation in the world. Especially when it comes to artificial intelligence, or AI for short, Germans are skeptical: around a third see it as a threat. The Germans are particularly afraid of the increasing possibilities of surveillance that are made possible in everyday life with so much technology. On the other hand, cyber attacks are seen as the greatest threat worldwide.
“Reduce reservations and build trust”
“Dismantling these reservations and building trust in digital technologies – this will be of decisive importance in the future and will also have an impact on consumer behavior,” said the new head of the Bosch Group, Stefan Hartung, commenting on the results that were presented on the occasion of the worldwide largest technology fair CES in the USA.
This has already been successful in some regions of the world: There is great enthusiasm for AI in China – only a good 26 percent believe that AI could also be threatening. “People want technology to solve the great challenges of our time and make everyday life easier in many areas,” added Hartung.
In the fight against climate change in particular, the survey participants have high hopes for technical solutions. The Germans consider hydrogen and the fuel cell to be the most important developments. However, it is believed in this country that the opportunities that arise are not being used optimally: Only 29 percent believe that technologies are used sufficiently to tackle the major problems of the time such as climate protection, while a total of 55 percent saw it that way. Here, 83 percent of the Chinese participants trust technology.
Do without the smartphone?
Overall, Germans do not see themselves and their country well prepared for the technological age: just 46 percent believe that Germany is already well positioned in terms of technical progress, while in China almost all respondents are.
There is already great enthusiasm for technology in China: Almost two out of three people from China want machines to be able to read their minds in order to better fulfill their wishes. Only 16 percent in Germany think this is worth striving for. And: seven out of ten Chinese would rather not see their best friends for a year than do without their smartphones – in Germany it is exactly the opposite.