Germany’s Digital Minister, Karsten Wildberger of the CDU, urged the country to ready itself for a sharp decline in jobs caused by artificial intelligence. “The era when industry was a job machine is coming to an end” he told the Saturday edition of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. “I appeal to employers, trade unions and civil society alike: we must unite and redesign the future”.
Wildberger warned that AI could remove many jobs from computer scientists, mathematicians and other professions, and said those people need new, meaningful work. “The worst response would be to reject AI. We cannot stop it, but we can-and must-ensure society benefits from it”.
He added that Germany can still succeed if it takes a leading role in AI technology. “If we apply AI technologies at the front line, the likelihood of disproportionate growth is high, which is essential for shaping this transition. We need higher tax revenues to transform the job market” he noted.
Wildberger also highlighted universal basic income as part of the solution, but insisted it isn’t enough. “People need purposeful activity; you can’t expect everyone to sit at home watching videos without going mad”.
He stressed it is not too late, pointing to China’s rapid rise. “The Chinese have shown how quickly one can catch up and even surpass others. We have woken up. We must pull together and stop drifting away, otherwise we’ll wake only in a nightmare”.
Finally, he acknowledged widespread fear-about job loss, children’s futures, and society’s trajectory. “I take these concerns seriously” Wildberger said. “The role of politics is to provide a framework. What it cannot do is take away the people’s agency to shape their own destiny, to seek and use opportunities”.