Germany will soon organize its own version of the renowned U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is responsible for developing emerging technologies that will maintain the military superiority of the United States Armed Forces.
Germany's DARPA will be named "Agentur für Disruptive Innovationen in der Cybersicherheit und Schlüsseltechnologien" or ADIC. The German name translates into "Agency for Disruptive Innovations in Cybersecurity and Key Technologies." The role of ADIC will be similar in some key respects to that of its famous U.S. counterpart.
The original plan is for ADIC to help ensure Germany's "technological innovation leadership." The federal document detailing the creation of ADIC also proposes establishing an "IT security fund" to protect related key German technologies.
Established in 1958, DARPA developed the packet-switching technology that made the Internet possible, and later the World Wide Web, and the ubiquitous Global Positioning System, among many other revolutionary inventions.
Now, Germany's Federal Ministry of Defense (Bundesministerium der Verteidigung) or BMVg is leading the long-overdue push for ADIC. As Germany is world renowned for its surfeit of geniuses and scientific talent, the raw materials (the people) for ADIC won't be that hard to find.
BMVg said it wants ADIC to be up and running this year. This new agency will study disruptive technologies relevant to Germany's defense and security. A decision on the way forward is expected "shortly," said a BMVg spokesman.
The Federal Ministry of Finance (Bundesministerium der Finanzen), or BMF, will green light the project to establish ADIC and has begun planning to do just that. Planning is necessary because the new agency will be established as an "in-house" limited liability corporation, said the BMF.
A German limited liability company, or a "Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung" (GmbH), is the most widely used legal form for corporations operating in Germany.
Insiders believe consideration for the establishment of ADIC among the German Cabinet (Bundeskabinett) might come as early as September. They confirm the deadline for establishing ADIC is set for this year.
Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen referred to ADIC in a speech in May, in which she compared the German agency's its purpose to that of DARPA. She presented the idea to establish ADIC as part of a wider plan toward deep-futures thinking on cybersecurity matters.
Advancing the Bundeswehr's capabilities in using artificial intelligence in warfare will also be an important task for ADIC. Some German experts fear Germany is falling behind the United States and China in developing AI technologies, but are confident Germany's enormous base of scientific talent and emerging policy framework will ensure success in this field.
