This article is part of a special report on artificial intelligence, The AI Issue. Europe's plan to ride a new wave of AI innovation into a technological renaissance relies on companies sharing their data with researchers and entrepreneurs. But will the companies play along? According to interviews with industry groups representing Silicon Valley, European tech companies and Germany's industrial base, the answer for now is: maybe, but only to a limited extent, and even then only when sharing data will not benefit rivals. "We haven't seen any single company speaking up in public saying it was a great idea," said Alexandre Roure of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), a tech lobby whose members include Google and Facebook.

The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in manufacturing could create EUR 60 bn in additional value for German industry. According to the new study, "The Ghost in the Machine: Artificial Intelligence in the Factory of the Future", for which the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) surveyed manufacturing and technology managers from about 1100 industrial companies worldwide about their applications of and willingness to invest in AI. Almost 90 percent of executives say they aim to integrate AI in their processes in the next three years. Nonetheless, so far only 28 percent have created a clear strategy for AI in manufacturing. In Germany, only 23 percent, or one in four German industrial companies, have developed an AI strategy.