Digital Summit: Merz Wants AI Guided by Human Values

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Digital Summit: Merz Wants AI Guided by Human Values.

At the federal government’s Digital Summit, Chancellor Friedrich Merz set out a clear direction for how artificial intelligence should be handled: AI must be guided by human values. At the same time, he acknowledged that the rapid pace of technological development presents policymakers with enormous challenges.

Merz is therefore not focused on speed at any cost. He places people and their dignity at the center of political efforts. For you, this explains the core of his speech: The speed of AI does not automatically determine how quickly rules and political decisions must be made.

Merz Names People as the Political Compass

The benchmark

At the Digital Summit, Merz said the development of artificial intelligence must consistently be guided by human values. Against the backdrop of rapid technological advances, he stressed that people and their dignity must remain at the center of political efforts.

This places a concrete question at the forefront: What should political oversight of AI be measured against? Not merely how quickly new capabilities become available or how easily companies can adapt to them. According to Merz, the benchmark is the human being.

The formulation “The pace of our institutions is also the pace of human life” explains why he does not regard a deliberate approach as a failure to act. Institutions can appear slow because human needs and societal constants determine the rhythm. The pace of technological development does not automatically set the tempo for politics.

“Shaping AI: Safe, Sovereign, Competitive”

The summit’s motto

Under the motto “Shaping AI: safe, sovereign, competitive”, Merz linked safety, digital sovereignty, and competitiveness. He called for stronger digital sovereignty for Germany and Europe.

For concrete implementation, he announced a dual strategy. In the short term, the development of industrially usable AI models should be promoted to secure companies’ competitiveness. In parallel, he wants to advance research into AI models for the future, including the field of physical AI.

The goal is not complete independence from other countries. Merz wants to reduce technological dependencies without falling into autarky. This is why he is counting on international cooperation, including with France and Canada, to share knowledge and diversify supply chains.

Germany Should Use Its Industrial Strength

The economic connection

Merz pointed to the enormous economic potential of Germany as a business location. He particularly highlighted mechanical engineering and the electronics industry.

His AI strategy is therefore not treated solely as a regulatory issue. The industrially usable models are intended to help companies secure their competitiveness. Research into physical AI forms the longer-term part of the dual strategy. Taken together, both should strengthen digital sovereignty without abandoning ties to international partners and markets.

The AI Task Force Delivers Its First Report

The political foundation

The federal government’s AI Task Force has submitted its first report. It is intended to serve as the foundation for the target vision of an “AI nation 2030.”

The report gives the discussion a more concrete political framework than the summit speech alone. Merz is thus describing not just an abstract orientation toward values, but also pointing to a political working instrument: The task force provides a report intended to serve as the foundation for further development of Germany’s AI vision.

Do Not Uncritically Transfer Responsibility to AI

The societal task

In his speech, Merz invoked Pope Leo XIV and warned against uncritically assigning too much responsibility to AI systems. The rules for digital transformation must be set jointly by politics, business, and society.

The technological foundations of freedom must also be secured in the process. Merz therefore links his call for human values with a clear division of responsibility: Society develops the rules, politics organizes the framework, and business contributes its capabilities to implementation.

His position at the Digital Summit can thus be summarized precisely: human values ahead of blind speed, digital sovereignty without autarky, and AI development that combines competitiveness with social responsibility. You can find the full account in the Handelsblatt’s report.