| In an increasingly digitalised world, generative AI and big data technologies are opening up completely new horizons. Businesses harness the potential of these innovations to generate tailored content and achieve efficiency gains. Sill, using big data is no guarantee for productivity increases but requires targeted investment of time and resources.
In the current ZEW Monthly edition on the topic of “Digitalisation” we present a proposal for promoting reliable generative AI in the EU. We also share current findings from ZEW research projects on the importance of digital sovereignty for German companies and on the relationship between big data use and productivity.
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 | | | RESEARCH ON DIGITALISATION |
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↗ SAFE GENERATIVE AI: TARGETED INCENTIVES FOR DEVELOPERS
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| The end of November 2024 marked ChatGPT’s second birthday. For some time now, companies have been using generative artificial intelligence (AI), for example in the form of chatbots as digital assistants. However, the ever-increasing performance of generative AI comes with risks, such as fake images or other fake news which are deliberately spread in disinformation campaigns – for example before elections. To address this situation, ZEW scientists are proposing a “Safe Generative AI Innovation Program”. The program would enable the EU to establish explicit economic incentives for the expansion of safe generative AI models.
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↗ STARGATE IS NO REASON TO BURY OUR HEADS IN THE SAND
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| US President Donald Trump recently announced The Stargate Project, which aims to invest at least 500 billion US dollars in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the USA. Professor Irene Bertschek, head of ZEW’s “Digital Economy” Research Unit, and Dr. Dominik Rehse, the Unit’s deputy head, have the following to say on the matter. “The realisation of Stargate, a public-private partnership, would further expand the USA’s existing international leadership in the field of artificial intelligence. However, for Germany and the rest of Europe, this shouldn’t be an excuse to bury our heads in the sand,” comments Bertschek.
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↗ BIG DATA AND PRODUCTIVITY: NO AUTOMATIC RELATIONSHIP
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| Hopes that big data will boost labour productivity have not been fully realised so far. A study by ZEW shows: The effect of big data on labour productivity depends primarily on the extent of data analysis. The researchers examined official company data from statistics authorities in Germany and the Netherlands for the study. “The availability of data and computing capacity has increased at a high pace in recent years, enabling companies to perform big data analytics,” explains the study’s co-author Robin Sack, member of ZEW’s “Digital Economy” Research Unit.
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| | ↗ DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY: GERMAN COMPANIES SEE NEED FOR ACTION
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| A new study by ZEW on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) shows that while German companies recognise the importance of digital sovereignty, they also acknowledge a strong dependency on non-European providers and partners, especially from the United States. The study, which is based on a representative survey of 1,200 companies in the information economy and the manufacturing industry, sheds light on the challenges Germany is currently facing regarding digital sovereignty. The term ‘digital sovereignty’ refers to the ability to shape the digital transformation in terms of hardware, software, services and skills in a self-determined way. In terms of digital technologies and applications, this is about being able to choose your level of dependency on providers and partners.
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| | | ZEW has calculated the financial impact the party programmes for the federal election would have on private households. According to these calculations, the tax reductions proposed by FDP, CDU/CSU and AfD would greatly benefit high-income groups, while the programmes of SPD, the Green Party, the Left Party and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) would mean an increase in income for low and medium-income groups in particular.
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| | | ZEW has calculated the fiscal effects of different federal election manifestos on the total federal budget. For purposes of the calculations, the budget is assumed to consist of the social security, federal and state budgets. On this basis, the overall budget would increase if the plans of the SPD, Left Party, Greens and BSW were to be realised. Inversely, this implies an additional financial burden for private households. With the CDU/CSU, FDP and AfD programmes the overall budget would shrink, while the disposable income of private households would rise.
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↗ ZEW ECONOMIST MELANIE ARNTZ BECOMES VICE DIRECTOR OF IAB
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| Professor Melanie Arntz, deputy head of ZEW’s Research Unit “Labour Markets and Social Insurance”, leaves ZEW after 22 years to transfer to the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) where she takes over as the institute’s Vice Director from January 2025. The position is linked to a W3 professorship for labour and occupational research at the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Law of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU).
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↗ JOURNALISM IN SOCIAL MEDIA: TOO LITTLE PAY FOR GOOD CONTENT
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| Social media and traditional news websites are in strong competition with each other: On the one hand, journalistic content enhances social networks and reaches a broad audience there; on the other hand, online journalism loses advertising revenue when potential readers do not visit news websites. This can become an existential problem for publishers. Generally, regulated and higher compensation is desirable: Ideally, the amount of compensation would be based on the quality of the content provided.
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↗ ZEW SPONSORS’ ASSOCIATION WELCOMES NEW BOARD MEMBERS
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| The General Assembly of the ZEW Sponsors’ Association for Science and Practice elected Thomas Herr and Eric Perotti as new members of the association’s board. Herr, CFO of Freudenberg SE, takes the place of Dr. Ralf Krieger who shaped the activities of the ZEW Sponsors’ Association for over ten years and provided important impetus. Perotti, CEO at ABB AG, succeeds Markus Ochsner, member of the association’s board since 2022.
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Gas customers may have to expect an additional 1,000 euros on their annual heating bills from 2027, predicts ZEW Mannheim’s President Professor Achim Wambach, PhD. From then onwards, consumers will have to pay for their CO2 emissions – and this is going to be expensive.
In an interview with WirtschaftsWoche, Achim Wambach talked about European emissions trading and the implications of a rising CO2 price for consumers.
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| | | | → CONTACT FOR QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS ON THE CONTENT | |
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| | | | | ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research
L7, 1 · 68161 Mannheim
Phone: +49 (0)621/1235-01
E-mail: zewmonthly@zew.de
Website: www.zew.de
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| | | | | Executive Directors:
Professor Achim Wambach, PhD; Claudia von Schuttenbach
Chair of the ZEW Supervisory Board:
Ministerial Director Dr. Hans Reiter
Registered Office: Mannheim
Local Court Mannheim HRB 6554
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