Overview
- Carsten Maschmeyer said in an interview that Germany’s public administration should be replaced almost entirely by AI to deliver decisions within seconds.
- He proposes that applications be deemed approved after three weeks of inaction, contrasting with the CDU’s call for automatic approval after three months.
- He argues that routine tasks such as checking forms, processing permits and grants, and issuing decision letters can be automated, leaving people to handle exceptions.
- He acknowledges that automation would reduce staff and long-term pension burdens but frames his push primarily around the need for speed and cites worsening processing times.
- Coverage notes existing pilots for AI-assisted pre-screening and automated letters, while pointing to data protection rules, missing IT standards, political caution, and OECD-backed evidence of slow procedures as major constraints.