Dialogue with the public

TechnikRadar 2024: a comparison of the surveys carried out to date highlights growing differences between young and old

Once again, the 2024 TechnikRadar survey very clearly shows that perceptions of technology and the associated discourses and expected benefits vary significantly among different social groups. It is therefore vital for communication of the risks and opportunities of new technologies to be tailored to specific applications and target groups. A widespread desire for participation will only emerge if every group feels equally included – and ultimately, this engagement is key to developing technologies that meet society’s needs.  

Ortwin Renn, co-lead of the TechnikRadar project and acatech Executive Board member

Since its first edition in 2018, the TechnikRadar survey has become a respected academic reference. This representative survey is an indispensable resource for anyone who wants to know what people in Germany think about technology. Its findings have been featured on the news and discussed in parliamentary committees. As well as asking about general attitudes towards technology, opinions about key future challenges and how people wish to participate in shaping technology, each edition of the study also explores opinions about technology’s practical applications by focusing on a specific theme. Past surveys have covered a wide range of topics, from digitalisation and the bioeconomy to healthcare and construction & housing.

In TechnikRadar 2024, acatech carried out a comparative analysis of the 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022 surveys. It revealed a growing divergence in the opinions of younger and older people in Germany about certain key questions. In 2022, the extent to which 16-34 year-olds agreed with the statement “Conserving an intact environment requires us all to limit our consumption” fell to an average of 6.8 on a scale from 0 (totally disagree) to 10 (totally agree). The over-65s group agreed much more strongly with this statement, with an average score of 7.9. According to the latest survey, those aged 65 and over are more likely to be concerned that technology could restrict their freedom. When asked to say how strongly they agreed with the statement “The more technology develops, the more pressure bears down on people”, the average score for this age group was 7.0 on a scale from 0 (totally disagree) to 10 (totally agree). 16-34 year-olds, on the other hand, agreed less strongly than any of the other age groups in the study, with an average score of just 5.7.

Study lead Cordula Kropp presents the findings of the TechnikRadar survey, © acatech

Participants in the evening’s first panel discussion (left to right): moderator Eva-Maria Jakobs, Cordula Kropp, Martin Bauer, Bita Fesidis and Manuel Frondel, © acatech

Experts at an “acatech am Dienstag” event discuss data disclosure for AI in the field of medicine. © acatech

There are no major differences between the different age groups as far as changes in the prioritisation of future challenges for Germany are concerned. As usual, “safeguarding jobs” remains the number one priority, but “maintaining domestic security” is back up to second place in the most recent survey in 2022. “Limiting climate warming” is seen as less important than in previous surveys.

Study lead Cordula Kropp (University of Stuttgart), acatech President Jan Wörner and their fellow panellists discussed the causes of these changing attitudes at an event to present the survey’s results* held in Munich’s Amerikahaus on 11 June. There is no doubt that the changing threat landscape is at least partly responsible. Following a period where people were very worried about the impacts of climate change, there has been growing concern about the prospect of war since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

An acatech am Dienstag* (acatech on Tuesday) event looked at why people in Germany are reluctant to share their health data. The findings of the TechnikRadar 2022 survey, which focused on healthcare, provided the basis for a lively discussion. The evening event on 4 June was held in partnership with the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

While the German public fear that more widespread use of robots could dehumanise the care sector, they  believe it could help construction workers with some of their more demanding tasks. This nuanced attitude and critical open-mindedness are in part a result of the growing public engagement with technology in recent decades.  

Cordula Kropp, scientific project lead and sociologist at the Center for Interdisciplinary Risk and Innovation Studies (ZIRIUS) at the University of Stuttgart

Experts from the healthcare sector, science, industry and government examined the question from different angles. There was a broad consensus that better data on medical conditions can contribute to better healthcare, since artificial intelligence can now be used to help doctors make a diagnosis by analysing this data in a matter of seconds.

The 2025 edition of the TechnikRadar survey will focus on one of the defining issues of our time: the digital transformation and artificial intelligence. The project is currently funded by the Carl Zeiss Foundation.

acatech’s public dialogue events reach a wide audience and introduce new formats

The Academy’s dialogue with the public is one of the most important aspects of its work. acatech employs a wide variety of formats – from online events and “buzz groups” to multi-day conferences – and collaborates with several partner organisations.

The “acatech am Dienstag” (acatech on Tuesday) discussion events are a fixture in the Academy’s calendar. While regular events are held in Munich, some also take place in other Bavarian towns and cities or online. The virtual events organised in partnership with vhs.wissen are frequently attended by several hundred people, one example being the event on AI in businesses* held on 3 December 2024 with acatech Senate member Andrea Martin of the IBM Watson Center Munich.

The in-person “acatech am Dienstag” events at the acatech Forum are also popular with the public. Discussions of topics such as “science-based policy advice”, “the global food supply”* and “the future of energy”* each attracted around 60 participants.

acatech also launched the new “TechTalk 28/4” format in partnership with the Münchner Volkshochschule (MVHS) and the Münchner Merkur, tz. media group. The venue for these events alternates between the MVHS and the acatech Forum at Karolinenplatz. Current controversies surrounding new technologies are discussed and analysed using various methods, including “buzz groups”. In this popular discussion method, participants are asked to discuss specific questions in small groups. Together with the keynote speeches and panel discussions, this provides a wide range of perspectives on the evening’s topic.

In order to reach a wide audience, acatech cooperates with established players in the local cultural and research landscape. Highlights in 2024 included a film screening and discussion at the Amerikahaus organised in partnership with HFF Munich, and various discussion events in partnership with the Evangelische Stadtakademie and the Catholic Academy in Bavaria.

At an “acatech am Dienstag” event, Andrea Martin spoke about the trusted deployment of AI in businesses. To illustrate how AI tools can be used in a commercial environment, she cited the example of CIMON, the first mobile astronaut assistance system to be used in space. The picture shows the modified CIMON-2 astronaut assistance system. © IBM and DLR

New plants for better yields. Experts at the “acatech an Dienstag” event held at the acatech Forum on Munich’s Karolinenplatz on 16 April 2024 discussed the importance of patents and plant breeders’ rights for the global food supply. © acatech

A new dialogue forum for Munich: The question of “trust” was much debated at the launch of the “TechTalk 28/4” event series, which was devoted to the topic of AI and disinformation. © acatech

Technology, power, and the city: Megalopolis and the dialogue about the future – a panel discussion about Francis Ford Coppola’s film “Megalopolis”. Right to left: Jan Wörner, Helmuth Trischler, Sinje Gebauer, Marc-Denis Weitze), © acatech

Fit for AI – which skills do we need in our everyday lives and the workplace? Moderator Birgit Obermeier discussed this question at an “acatech am Dienstag” event in Bamberg. © acatech

acatech also attaches great importance to working with partners outside of Munich. During 2024, it held events to discuss artificial intelligence in Würzburg (in partnership with the local adult education academy and as part of a professional development program for teachers run by the Bayerische Landeszentrale für Politische Bildungsarbeit), and in Bamberg (in partnership with the University of Bamberg).

acatech HORIZONS: explaining complex topics clearly and concisely

acatech’s HORIZONS series makes topical, environmentally and socially significant technology issues accessible to the layperson. Each edition is devoted to a technology field that opens up new horizons, is economically important and enables social change. The acatech HORIZONS publications provide a clear, easily understood, evidence-based overview of these topics. They set out the facts and discuss the social, economic and policy issues and the options for addressing them. The edition published in 2024 focused on Safety & Security.

Safety and security are basic needs that we often only think about when we feel threatened. In a world full of new technologies, ongoing digitalisation and global crises, this is becoming an increasingly important topic – not just for policymakers but also in our everyday lives. Safety and security impact us on many levels, be it on the roads, in our food system, at work or in foreign policy. But what do these two terms really mean?

It’s not easy to provide a simple definition of safety and security. What does a person need to feel safe and secure? What risks are they willing to take? In many areas, that’s an individual decision. Some people have a fear of flying – even though the likelihood of being involved in a car accident is much higher – while others love skydiving. Some people aren’t keen on heights or being underground, while others like nothing better than intrepid climbing trips, deep-sea diving or caving. The way we assess safety and risk isn’t always entirely rational, it can also be emotional and subjective. The acatech HORIZONS issue on Safety & Security provides a clear, evidence-based overview of subjective safety, objective approaches, the difference between safety and security, and the different internal and external dimensions of safety and security in both the physical and virtual worlds.

Other platforms for the issues addressed by the HORIZONS series include the HORIZONS logbook*, social media and the Late Night Tech podcast. Late Night Tech features in-depth conversations with the experts on technology-related topics – but with a personal touch.

acatech spoke with former German Defence Minister and Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière* about security, the role of technology in security policy and the challenge of risk communication.

In another podcast episode, Patrick Bühr*, Head of Research and Development at Rügenwalder Mühle, discussed the future of food production and lab-grown meat.

* Content only available in German