AI: From future tech to a business must-have
It is important to ask people for their views and perspectives from time to time so that we can learn from their feedback. That is why we have been conducting our Bosch Tech Compass survey annually over the past four years. Our latest report focuses on AI skills, and it aims to understand how people feel about artificial intelligence and how well-equipped they are to work with AI. The dominant finding is that people are eager to learn all about this powerful new technology.
The 2025 Bosch Tech Compass was launched in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in the USA, one of the largest tech events in the world. To create it, we interviewed more than 11,000 people from seven countries, including 1,000 from the UK. Among the more surprising findings is that more than four in five people, 82%, plan to educate themselves about AI. In the UK, the respective figure was 79%, a result that is possibly driven by the related finding that only 43% of UK respondents feel prepared for the upcoming era of AI.
These findings point to an important challenge that businesses face: AI is already viewed as a powerful new technology that people are eager to prepare for. They want to be able to use it and work with it. Should businesses begin training their staff now, or should they wait so that training can be targeted to specific use cases? The answer, as is often the case, is probably something in between and depends on the type of business and the needs of individuals.
The survey also raises the question about the competitiveness of the UK and other Western countries: Are we open-minded enough and taking the right measures to ensure competitiveness by embracing the opportunities that AI offers us?
In view of this question, it is encouraging that the UK Government announced a substantial investment in AI in January, followed by a comprehensive ‘AI Opportunities Action Plan’. These initiatives highlight AI's role as a key driver of growth in the country, with plans for developing AI Growth Zones, establishing an AI Energy Council, and constructing a new supercomputer, all aimed at positioning the UK as a global leader in AI.
Expanding the UK’s computing capacity is a crucial step to ensure that businesses of all sizes — beyond just tech giants — can harness the power of AI. This accessibility also empowers local authorities to utilise AI effectively. This is a prime example of democratising technology, which I believe is essential for the success of AI. Innovation should never be constrained by access.
The focus on integrating AI with sustainable energy is also particularly exciting for me. At Bosch, we see AI as a catalyst in our sustainability efforts. Whether it’s through smart energy systems or AI-driven manufacturing processes, we can use AI to reduce waste, speed up production, and to make sure we get the best return from the resources we use. AI also plays a crucial role in energy forecasting and grid management, helping to decrease emissions and combat climate change, which remains one of the most pressing challenges of our time.
The UK has all the right ingredients to be one of the leading players in AI innovation: talent, ambition, and now, a dedicated action plan. To guarantee success we’re going to need one more critical ingredient: Collaboration. This will take many forms, including collaboration between governments setting the right policies, between businesses driving innovation responsibly, and communities embracing change with trust and optimism. Such a coordinated effort between government, businesses, and academia will ensure that nobody is left behind in this transition.
We’re already harnessing AI at Bosch: We employ around 5,000 AI experts, and we’ve filed more than 1,500 AI-related patents in the last five years. For internal processes, we are using AI in a wide variety of applications with the aim of streamlining our work. A powerful use case is in manufacturing, where it excels at repetitive tasks such as production scheduling and quality control. AI is also helping us unlock new possibilities in our solutions for customers. For example, our multifunctional camera for cars can recognise objects and people as well as distinguish between the road and its edge, thereby keeping the car safely in its lane.
Our survey shows people are ready for AI, and we at Bosch are, too. When you consider the improvement AI brings today to repetitive processes such as quality control, analysing data, and recording events and activities, I am confident that there is much more to come, and that AI is going to provide an incredible boost to businesses and the UK’s economy.
It’s up to all of us to make it count.
Read the full article on The Engineer