People in Germany are comparatively positive about the use of technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) in the care and health sector. In a representative survey of consumers in the USA, Japan, France and Germany, the approval rating in this country was 1.6 on a scale of minus 10 (very high rejection) to plus 10 (very high openness). Japan surprisingly only achieved an approval rating of 0.9 – ahead of the USA (0.7) and France (0.1).
For the representative study, 4,200 people in the four countries were surveyed by the management consultancy Oliver Wyman on behalf of the electronics industry organisation gfu, including 1,000 consumers from Germany.
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Despite the openness, there are also concerns. 13 percent of respondents in Germany completely reject modern health and care technologies such as AI. Critics argue that care belongs in the hands of people with empathy and express concerns about the lack of individuality in treatment by algorithms. At the same time, many see the advantages of the technologies, such as 24/7 availability and the ability to detect diseases at an early stage.
In Germany, 38 percent of respondents hope that AI can reduce the pressure on the overburdened healthcare sector. Expectations for cost savings are of a similar magnitude. Almost a third of respondents in Germany (30 percent) hope that the new technologies can help reduce high costs. Internationally, the figure is similar (29 percent). But there are also fears that exactly the opposite will happen and that the use of technology could be expensive. 30 percent of respondents in Germany and a little more internationally (32 percent) are of this opinion.
«Conflicting claims»
Sara Warneke, Managing Director of gfu Consumer & Home Electronics, said the study shows that consumers are divided when it comes to the use of technologies such as robotics and AI in the care and health sector. “People in Germany are more open than average compared to other countries.” Warneke pointed to contradictory demands and concerns. “On the one hand, those surveyed expect human contact with round-the-clock availability, which only high-tech solutions can offer. In addition, fear of data risks leads to rejection, while the ability of AI to analyze data, for example in diagnostics, receives a lot of approval.”
