Artificial intelligence is a familiar term to almost all Germans  

• More than half are well informed about AI, one third have only rudimentary knowledge 
• Metaversum & blockchain also increase awareness level

Berlin, 12 July 2023 - Writing emails, composing letters, creating pictures: ChatGPT and other tools have made artificial intelligence usable and widely known, even for consumers without special prior knowledge. The vast majority of people in Germany (92 percent) are now familiar with artificial intelligence - a year ago it was 86 percent. This is the result of a representative survey commissioned by the digital association Bitkom among 1,002 people in Germany aged 16 and over. While 36 percent have heard of artificial intelligence, 56 percent are confident that they can explain the term. Other technologies and technical terms have also recently become much better known: While 39 percent have never heard of metaverse, 75 percent had in the previous year. Blockchain is not familiar to 38 per cent, whereas 53 per cent said so in 2022. For 21 percent, the term chat bot is absolutely new territory - less than last year, when it was still 28 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, expert for digital participation at Bitkom.

Many are unsure ("Heard, but can't explain what it means") about the terms cryptocurrency (44 per cent) and virtual reality (30 per cent). On the other hand, it is easier for respondents to explain what apps are. 81 percent know the term and can explain what it means. The same applies to cookies (73 percent), cyber attacks (72 percent) and 5G (69 percent). "The still great uncertainty surrounding many terms of digitalisation 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," says Vogt-Hohenlinde.