Artificial intelligence for small and medium-sized enterprises: potential and challenges

What advantages can the use of artificial intelligence offer medium-sized companies? This question was addressed in a position paper published by Netzwerk Berlin, a faction within the SPD parliamentary group in the German Bundestag. In the report, the parliamentarians not only outline the potential of AI, but also formulate eight concrete recommended measures for the federal government. These are intended to support SMEs in introducing and successfully applying AI applications.

This includes, for example, creating legal clarity regarding the impact of the AI Act on companies, improving access to AI infrastructure, and attracting additional IT specialists through further training and immigration. In addition, the network calls for improved data availability and quality, the establishment of networked “innovation ecosystems,” and the provision of targeted financial incentives. Furthermore, it says that employee participation and co-determination need to be strengthened to ensure the effective application of AI in SMEs. Last but not least, the state should also make itself more accessible to SMEs as a customer: When awarding technology and service contracts, domestic companies must also be taken into account in order to strengthen digital sovereignty while promoting the “domestic” business landscape and its (AI) innovations.

The status quo of AI use in medium-sized companies is ambivalent: on the one hand, 72% of companies see AI as an opportunity, but only 15% actually use it. This is according to a Bitkom survey from 2023. The potential of AI use in companies is diverse, ranging from increased process efficiency, automated task fulfillment, and improved customer service to AI-generated texts and support in brainstorming. However, successful implementation requires, above all, know-how, qualified employees, and sufficient data from the company itself. Financial and regulatory aspects are also playing an increasingly important role.

We were also interested in the following topics:

• AI in the workplace: In addition to its great potential, AI also poses a risk and can have disadvantages for employees. A study by the Upwork platform investigated exactly what these might be.

• Labor law: Normally, certificates of incapacity for work are considered non-contestable. The Handelsblatt summarizes when this is possible and how the Federal Labor Court ruled on this issue.

• Unconditional basic income: Following many other studies, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently financed and conducted a study on unconditional basic income. The results are now summarized by t3n.

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