Understanding public perception of AI
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.
Key findings from the 2025 Bosch Tech Compass
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 per cent, plan to educate themselves about AI. In the UK, the respective figure was 79 per cent, a result that is possibly driven by the related finding that only 43 per cent of UK respondents feel prepared for the upcoming era of AI.
The challenge for businesses
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.
Should AI have the right to patent its own inventions?
Every good survey should also contain some light-hearted questions. In the Tech Compass we asked people if AI should have the right to patent its own inventions and innovations, and therefore compete with human inventors in the market. In the UK, 30 per cent said yes. India and China were way out in front with respectively 72 per cent and 65 per cent agreeing. Look more closely though and this result, as with many other findings, reveals a significant difference in the responses from different regions around the world.
A global divide in AI adoption
A clear pattern of Asian countries appearing to be much more open to new technology is the finding that really stands out in the 2025 Tech Compass. For example, in the question ‘how important do you think AI skills will be in your everyday life in the future’, 91 per cent of Chinese respondents said it would be very important or important. In India 89 per cent said the same, but the UK, Germany and the USA recorded around 62 per cent. France scored 56 per cent.
Similarly, when asked ‘have you already received any AI training at work’, 57 per cent of respondents from India said yes, as did 38 per cent of Chinese respondents. In the UK it was 28 per cent, USA 24 per cent, Germany 18 per cent, and France 15 per cent.
The competitiveness question for the UK
It 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.
How Bosch is harnessing AI
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. We are using AI in a wide variety of applications internally 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 multifunction 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.
The future of AI in business and the economy
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.
Steffen Hoffmann, managing director, Bosch UK & Ireland
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