EU regulation ‘far too restrictive’
A former business executive in charge of brands including MediaMarkt, Wildberger took office in May of last year as minister in charge of digitalization and government modernization.
The German minister also addressed the EU’s AI rulebook, calling for changes through ongoing talks in Brussels to simplify the rules.
“If you ask me about AI regulation, and whether we allow companies to develop things quickly, with little bureaucracy and in an innovative way, then I would say that our framework […] is far too restrictive,” he said.
The current AI legislation “does not meet international standards at all. This is also one of the reasons why so many companies in Europe turn abroad when it comes to AI development,” he said. Wildberger said he fears that German companies will leave the country if the EU’s legislation doesn’t create more supportive conditions.
He pointed to a connection with the sovereignty debate, arguing the rules are one of the main reasons why German and European companies use foreign software providers.
“As a result, we regularly end up being customers of large providers from the United States or other countries. That is why we need to ensure that regulation becomes more innovation-friendly — while still guaranteeing the safety of products,” he said.