BERLIN, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- If artificial intelligence (AI) were used on a large scale in Germany, a 13 percent growth of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025 compared to 2019 would be "realistic", said a study published by the German Association of the Internet Industry (eco) on Thursday.
According to the study, the GDP growth would equal a total potential of about 488 billion euros (540 billion U.S dollars), of which about 330 billion euros would come from cost savings and about 150 billion euros from sales potentials for all industries in Germany.
Sectors profiting the most from AI applications would be retail and consumption, energy as well as environment and chemicals, each with just under 100 billion euros.
The study found that the opportunities for "industry 4.0" were particularly abundant. With 182.5 billion euros, the greatest potential for cost savings would lie in the support of production by AI.
In order to fully exploit the "enormous potential" of AI, eco recommended that German companies should act quickly and examine possible AI deployment scenarios for their companies.
"We are observing that companies in Germany are still very timid in their use of AI technologies," said eco chair of the board Oliver Sueme.
For a successful introduction of AI technologies, the German economy would also need "political tailwind," according to eco. The national AI strategy presented by the German government at the end of 2018 "must now be rapidly implemented and further substantiated."
A key objective of the government's AI strategy was "to make Germany and Europe a leading location for the development and application of AI technologies and to secure Germany's future competitiveness."
"We need a holistic approach that focuses not only on targeted research and development but also on high-performance digital infrastructures and promotes social acceptance of AI technologies," Sueme said.
In the joint study conducted by eco and management consultancy Arthur D. Little with the support of the Vodafone Institute, 150 use cases were analyzed to investigate the effects AI could be expected to have on companies in Germany. (1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollars)
