BITKOM survey shows increasing knowledge of technological terms, but also gaps in education
More than half of Germans consider themselves well informed about artificial intelligence (AI), while a third have at least rudimentary knowledge. This is the result of a recently published representative survey of 1,002 respondents over the age of 16 by the digital association BITKOM (https://bitkom.org). The metaverse and blockchain are also becoming increasingly well-known.
Almost everyone knows AI
92 percent of the participants are familiar with artificial intelligence. That is six percent more than a year ago. 56 percent are confident in explaining how AI works. 36 percent say they have heard of it before. According to BITKOM, ChatGPT and other tools for text or image creation have made AI usable tools even for consumers without prior knowledge.
According to the BITKOM survey, other technological terms have also become more familiar: although 39 percent have never heard of the metaverse, 75 percent had a year earlier. Blockchain is unknown to 38 percent, compared to 53 percent last year. 21 per cent have never heard of the chat bot, compared to 28 per cent last year.
VR difficult to explain
44 percent cannot explain cryptocurrency, 30 percent are unsure about virtual reality (VR). With apps, on the other hand, 81 percent are sure they can explain the term. Almost as many express this with regard to cookies (73 percent), cyber attacks (72 percent) and 5G (69 percent).
“The most important terms of digitalisation should be as understandable as possible for all people. We therefore need low-threshold offers to clarify questions directly in the personal living environment and to sustainably strengthen technical knowledge,” says Sophie Vogt-Hohenlinde, BITKOM expert for digital participation. There is no question that technologies offer new opportunities. In a LinkedIn project,
“The still great uncertainty surrounding many digitalisation terms shows: We have to take the entire population with us and explain digital progress in an understandable way. Only in this way can we ensure that everyone really benefits equally from digitalisation,” concludes Vogt-Hohenlinde.
