AI in federal ministries: A patchwork of regulations

Since the introduction of ChatGPT, not only has AI established itself as a tool in the workplace, but discussions about its optimal use in a professional context have also continued unabated. Business Insider has now investigated how the federal ministries are positioning themselves in this debate. Based on the responses received from the ministries, it shows how different attitudes toward the use of AI can be.

On the one hand, there are ministries that severely restrict or even prohibit the use of AI for data protection reasons. These include the Ministry of the Environment, which considers the use of AI tools inadmissible due to the impossibility of data anonymization. The same applies to the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Development, whose employees are even prohibited from visiting AI-based websites. In the Department of Defense, the use of AI “is not currently planned for official use” and is effectively impossible due to legal requirements. However, employees are at least allowed to visit the relevant websites.

On the other hand, many ministries have the opposite of such restrictive regulations: in the departments of economy, health, and finance, the use of AI services is permitted, and the ministries consider themselves open to technology as long as data protection is guaranteed. Use is regulated similarly in the Ministry of Labor, but here it is supplemented by guidelines. Like the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides additional services for its employees in the form of guidance, training, and information events on the use of AI.

While the ministries mentioned have already found a way to use AI that makes sense for them, four ministries are still exploring the optimal approach. These include the Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport, which has set up a test group to address data protection, confidentiality, and IT security. An equivalent approach is being taken by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry of Family Affairs is also testing the use of AI on an “exploratory” basis and is currently developing guidelines for the use of AI. This shows that even at the federal government level, no uniform approach to AI in the workplace has been found yet.

We were also interested in the following topics:

• Underchallenged at work: Burnout is a familiar term to many employees, but few are aware of the opposite: “Boreout,” or constant underemployment at work, can also make you ill in the long term, explains Anna Friedrich in the FAZ (€).

• Gen Z in the job market: What do Gen Z employees themselves think about the prejudices they often face from older colleagues and supervisors? Zeit Campus (€) asked several young people what they think about hierarchies, work ethic, and similar topics.

• Dealing with conflicts: Conflicts in the workplace are stressful in principle, but the situation is exacerbated when managers are involved. Organizational mentor Isabell Prophet explains how to deal with this optimally and maintain your professionalism as much as possible in her t3n column.

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