Founder of Heidelberg-based KI startup Aleph Alpha, Jonas Andrulis, demands more efficient government action in Germany.
Looking at the new US body led by Elon Musk, the entrepreneur told the “Spiegel”: “We must make ourselves as a nation fit for the future, a bit more efficiency would not hurt.” This applies to companies as well. “The times when our prosperity was based on inventions made 100 years ago and then continuously improved are definitely coming to an end.”
For the economic location, it is crucial that “more companies take the lead, are bold and visionary, and actually build and use sovereign AI” said Andrulis. Some still hold it for a “KI strategy to offer courses to their employees on how to deal with ChatGPT” so Andrulis. “Time is of the essence: How we position ourselves and how we get out of this curve will decisively shape the future of this country.”
Andrulis sees a stronger KI-based economic world primarily positively: “We will be able to free people from the yoke of stupider and exhausting tasks that many have spent a large part of their lives on so far.” Humanity will probably look back on the future with a similar shudder as we do today on the hard physical work before the industrial revolution, the entrepreneur said. “We will never fully replace humans, and we don’t want to. But their time is too precious to spend it on expense reports.”
Unlike many industry experts, the founder, who once studied in Karlsruhe and after the sale of his earlier startup worked for Apple’s “Special Projects Group” in the Silicon Valley for a few years, does not see the so-called “General Artificial Intelligence” (AGI) as the greatest threat – that is, an AI that equals or surpasses human abilities.
“My greatest concern is that a few large technology giants will get more and more power and control over our society, over our value creation, and over our thoughts” said the Aleph Alpha CEO. At some point, many of the texts we read, the videos we watch, and all the bots we talk to will be generated or curated by AI. “Who builds the AI will then determine what the right answer to a controversial question is” said Andrulis. “If we as liberal democracies claim to shape the world of the next generations according to our values, then we must master AI.