Germany news: Berlin hosts digital summit with AI focus

Skip next section What you need to know

What you need to know

• The Digital Summit in Berlin is to focus on how best to bring Germany and Europe up to speed in the field of artificial intelligence (AI)
• Chancellor Merz is scheduled to speak to guests — and be introduced to a humanoid robot
• Separately, the German and UK defense ministers are to discuss incorporating AI more into military cooperation between their two countries
• A 34-year-old man is to go on trial in Leipzig accused of carrying out a deadly hit-and-run accident six months ago in which two people were killed
• German gas storage levels are well below those prescribed by law ahead of the heating season

This is a round-up of some of the top headlines from and about Germany on November 2, 2026:

Skip next section Government to open AI-focused Digital Summit in Berlin

November 2, 2026

Government to open AI-focused Digital Summit in Berlin

A two-day conference in Berlin that will look at ways of enhancing Germany's digital infrastructure, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), is to be opened by the minister for digital affairs, Karsten Wildberger, on Monday morning.

More than 1,000 guests, including digital ministers from Europe and Canada, are expected to attend the summit, which this year will focus largely on the uses and safety of AI and new developments in the field.  

Chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled to hold a speech in the afternoon and to meet with a robot from the German company Neura Robotics.

The company develops robots that can see, hear and feel and are potentially utilizable in both industries and households.

The event is being held for the 19th time since its inception in 2006 as the National IT Summit. It did not take place in 2021, an election year in Germany.

Cutting-edge technology: AI robots made in Germany

Edited by:Elizabeth Schumacher

https://p.dw.com/p/5OwK7

Skip next section Welcome to our coverage

November 2, 2026

Welcome to our coverage

Guten Morgen from DW's newsroom in Bonn as the first, chilly week of November gets underway.

That wintry cold makes a report that gas storage levels are well below what they should be at the start of the heating season sobering reading.

Meanwhile, an annual digital summit in Berlin that will look at ways of boosting the field of artificial intelligence (AI) in Germany and Europe is also kicking off.

It is set to bring a hopefully friendly encounter between Chancellor Merz and a humanoid robot from the German company Neura Robotics.

AI will also be on the agenda at afternoon talks between Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his UK counterpart Wes Streeting, as the two discuss enhancing German-British military cooperation.

Please read on for more content — not AI-generated, we promise — on these and other stories.