Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger (CDU) has called for reduced restrictions on the development of Artificial Intelligence and cautioned against premature regulation. Speaking on Monday in the ntv program “Blome & Pfeffer” Wildberger argued that regulating the development stage before a product even exists “is not feasible”. He asserted that Germany and Europe require “significantly more creative freedom” to be able to build products at all.
Despite his call for greater latitude, the Minister stressed that established protection mechanisms must remain intact. He emphasized that safety checks are mandatory before bringing anything to market, stating, “Before I launch a product, I have to ensure it has been examined and that it is safe. That applies to AI as well”. Furthermore, he deemed frameworks such as the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act indispensable, calling them fundamental values that must be upheld.
However, Wildberger criticized the EU’s previous approach to innovation policy. He pointed out that in recent years, the focus had been on “regulating the markets before anything could even emerge”. Consequently, he argued that the future must clearly separate necessary safeguards from types of regulation that merely stifle innovation.