A recent LinkedIn post about “DeutschlandGPT” caught my eye, promising an AI solution “Made in Germany”. Upon closer inspection, some concerning details emerged.

The company behind DeutschlandGPT, as listed in their Impressum, is DeutschlandGPT GmbH based in Germering. This suggests they’re likely just an ordinary T-Systems customer rather than having an official partnership with or endorsement from Deutsche Telekom. Adding to the confusion, a Data Scientist at Deutsche Telekom commented on the LinkedIn post, asking for the contact person at Deutsche Telekom for this mentioned support. He stated that he had asked internally but unfortunately couldn’t find out. This further calls into question the nature of any involvement from Deutsche Telekom.

What’s particularly interesting is the company’s history. A look at the commercial register reveals that until just two weeks ago, this company was operating under the name “Lectify” with a business focus on creating learning platforms. The sudden pivot to AI, complete with a name change, raises questions about their expertise and motives.

The whole situation reads like a quintessential German tech mishap - too much money meeting too much ambition without the necessary substance. It’s a stark reminder of the importance of due diligence in the AI field, especially when grand claims are being made about national innovation or data security.

For those interested in the full story and initial analysis, the original LinkedIn post can be found here. It provides additional context and observations from others in the tech community.