Almost three-quarters of people worldwide now consider AI skills crucial to success, according to Bosch’s Tech Compass 2025 report.

The technology firm’s latest survey, taking in the views of 11,000 people across Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, the UK, and the USA, found that 71% believe that AI proficiency is critical to their future, with 56% saying that AI skills are essential or important in their current job.

Interestingly, those in Western countries, such as Germany (60%) and France (56%), rate the importance of AI skills lower, while significantly more respondents in China (91%) and India (89%) consider such skills essential.

According to Bosch’s survey, the effective use of AI tools is considered the most important skill worldwide (59%), followed by critical thinking (44%) and an awareness of cybersecurity (44%). 

In the UK, meanwhile, critical thinking (50%) is considered more important than the effective use of AI (49%). 

Globally, four out of five (82%) of respondents said they plan to educate themselves further about AI, with self-study playing a central role (54%), followed by basic AI courses (36%) and specialised workshops (27%).

Motivation to learn new skills is particularly high in India (98%), China (95%), and Brazil (92%), while conversely, 30% of those in the UK said that they would not study AI at all.

AI is also gaining more importance in education, with 63% of respondents worldwide supporting the introduction of AI as a subject in school curriculums, with those in China (84%) and India (79%) again being most in favour, with the UK being the least supportive at 53%.

Bosch said that these figures show that education and learning development are generally being recognised as a key part of leveraging the opportunities of an AI-driven future.

For those already in work, the latest Tech Compass found that 53% of people reported using AI tools, at least rarely, in their job, although 47% said they never use them. Surprisingly, those most likely never to use AI tools at work were in Western nations, including France (61%), Germany (55%), and the UK (54%). 

The data shows that more than a quarter (28%) of respondents globally have already completed some form of AI training, with a further 11% planning to do so. 

India currently leads the way, with 57% reporting being trained in AI, while Germany (18%) and France (15%) are lagging behind.

Looking ahead, the Bosch Tech Compass revealed that 67% of respondents see AI as the most important technology for the years to come – a significant rise from both 2024 (64%) and 2023 (41%).

Despite their reluctance to learn new AI skills, those in Germany (72%) and France (70%) were more likely to view AI as pivotal for the future, followed by China (69%), the US (68%), and the UK (66%). 

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When asked whether they thought it possible for AI to one day win the Nobel Prize, those in India (68%) and China (63%) said it could happen, while those in Germany (31%), the UK (33%), and France (38%) were more sceptical.

“AI skills are no longer limited to experts,” said Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management at Bosch.

“With education we can harness AI to enhance everyone’s abilities, validate AI outcomes, and ultimately improve human-machine collaboration.”