At Rise of AI 2024 in Berlin, Fabian Mehring, Bavaria's Minister of Digital Affairs, argues that Bavaria wants to become a leading AI hub and that smarter regulation, not less regulation, is the way to get there. He cites Bavaria's Hightech Agenda, which will channel 5.5 billion euros by 2027 into more than 34 new AI professorships, over 10,000 new AI-focused student places, new research centers, and a Franconian university built entirely around AI. He points to a new strategic partnership with Aleph Alpha, including a data center and new offices in Munich, and to concrete public projects such as AI-based early detection of heart attacks in women and an AI-driven early-warning system for storms and floods. He warns that the EU AI Act risks becoming a bureaucratic burden like GDPR, citing a Bitkom finding that over 60% of German businesses see GDPR as stifling innovation, and proposes a 'Bavarian Innovation Accelerator', a protected legal sandbox plus investor training and certification standards, modeled partly on France's capital-mobilization success under President Macron.
Key takeaways
- Bavaria's Hightech Agenda will invest 5.5 billion euros by 2027 into AI professorships, student places and research centers.
- Bavaria has formed a strategic partnership with Aleph Alpha, including a new data center and offices in Munich, to bring AI into public administration.
- Mehring cites Bitkom data that over 60% of German businesses see GDPR as stifling innovation, and warns the EU AI Act risks the same outcome.
- He proposes a 'Bavarian Innovation Accelerator' offering a legal sandbox, investor training and certification standards for AI companies.
- He cites France's Tibi initiative, which mobilized 13 billion euros in private capital for French tech startups, as a model to replicate in Bavaria.
Detailed notes
Bavaria's AI investment and infrastructure
Mehring states that Bavaria's Hightech Agenda will invest 5.5 billion euros by 2027, funding more than 34 new AI professorships, over 10,000 new student places focused on AI, research centers covering mobility, robotics and industrial AI, a new Franconian university where every subject centers on AI, and a statewide AI network. He also announces a strategic partnership with Aleph Alpha, a German large-language-model company he describes as a competitor to OpenAI and Google, including a new data center and offices in Munich to bring AI into Bavaria's public administration.
AI already improving people's lives
He gives two examples of funded projects: an AI project in Munich for early detection of heart attacks in women, which he says shows AI already creating measurable value in healthcare rather than remaining an abstract idea, and a rural early-warning system against storms and floods, expanded with soil-moisture sensors and weather stations, that automatically alerts residents and emergency services via SMS, email or messenger when measured values are exceeded.
Warning against an over-regulated AI Act
Mehring argues the EU AI Act, passed in Brussels and due for implementation within two years across member states, risks becoming a bureaucratic burden similar to GDPR. He cites a Bitkom finding that more than 60% of German businesses consider GDPR an obstacle to innovation because they lack the legal and administrative capacity to ensure compliance. He calls on the federal government to implement the AI Act in the most innovation-friendly way possible, warning that founders and corporates are already looking to other regions for AI development to avoid excessive cost and delay.
The Bavarian Innovation Accelerator
As his central proposal, Mehring describes a 'Bavarian Innovation Accelerator' meant to help small and medium-sized Bavarian companies navigate more than 100 existing digital-space rules. It would offer a protected space to develop and test AI applications without fear of legal consequences, reducing the need for companies to build their own compliance departments, plus investor training on AI legal risk and work with certification bodies to set safety and compliance standards. He frames the initiative as a way to prevent deindustrialization and promote modernization, citing President Macron's Tibi initiative, which mobilized 13 billion euros in private capital for French tech startups, as a model he wants to replicate.
Closing call: less fear, more courage
Mehring closes by calling for less of what he terms 'German Angst' and more courage, or 'German Mut', arguing Germany and Bavaria should treat AI as an unprecedented opportunity rather than a threat, while remaining committed to ethical AI development, realistic risk management, and alignment with European values.
Quotes
AI is in my eyes not what science fiction movies are made of. AI is the technology to improve our reality of life.
Fabian Mehring
We cannot afford to have the same chaos as with the GDPR all over again, hurting our business and hindering innovations.
Fabian Mehring
Questions answered in this talk
How much is Bavaria investing in AI?
According to Fabian Mehring at Rise of AI 2024, Bavaria's Hightech Agenda will channel 5.5 billion euros by 2027 into more than 34 new AI professorships, over 10,000 new AI-focused student places, and multiple AI research centers.
What is the Bavarian Innovation Accelerator?
Fabian Mehring describes it at Rise of AI 2024 as a proposed protected legal sandbox that lets Bavarian companies and the public sector develop and test AI applications without fear of legal consequences, combined with investor training and AI certification standards.
Why is Fabian Mehring concerned about the EU AI Act?
At Rise of AI 2024, Mehring warns the EU AI Act could become a bureaucratic burden like GDPR, citing a Bitkom finding that over 60% of German businesses view GDPR as an obstacle to innovation, and calls for an innovation-friendly implementation.