Kommentar: KI und Mittelstand: Ein großer Fehler darf sich nicht wiederholen

Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz (CDU) called for artificial intelligence (AI) during Germany's investment summit, urging the Mittelstand (middle class businesses) to leverage AI for data evaluation and utilization. He believed this would open the door for Germany to the world's leading position. However, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang pointed out that data is a country's most valuable asset, and exporting it could be counterproductive.

Huang's point is valid, even if he indirectly promotes his own company's services. When entrusting AI firms like Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google with data, businesses must trust that their information will not be misused, especially when dealing with sensitive production data and company secrets. The risk of relying on an external partner with such data is too high.

However, there is a solution: companies can harness AI for data analysis while retaining control. They need to gain more oversight over where and how AI is deployed. Encryption alone is not enough, as firms must secure their data both in transit and at rest. For decades, many firms have shut down their own data centers and transferred data to large cloud providers, attracted by lower costs. The reassurance was that encryption would protect their data.