Einsatz von Künstlicher Intelligenz in der öffentlichen Verwaltung in Deutschland

Where is artificial intelligence (AI) used in the German administration and how does German administrative law assess this use? This question will be the focus of this article, which aims to make the situation accessible for a European comparison. The topic of AI is now omnipresent in the discourse on administrative modernization in Germany, after the discussion had been dormant for a long time. While the public debate in the past was primarily concerned with electronic communication and the digitalization of administrative service processes, AI technologies are now receiving a great deal of attention in the academic debate, but also in administrative practice. Public administration in Germany has developed the ambition to be a driver of innovation in this field of technology itself and not just to follow it. This is reflected in the AI strategy for Germany, which was first published in 2018 and updated in 2020. This national AI strategy defines “AI in public administration” as one of its central fields of action. AI is to be used for sovereign tasks and administrative competencies are to be adapted accordingly. This dimension of the use of AI by public administration and its legal assessment will be the focus of this article.