UK businesses say fear of missing out is driving AI adoption
A recent survey of 1,200 IT decision makers (ITDMs) from the UK, US, France, Germany, Australia and Singapore found that many companies are simply integrating artificial intelligence into their business operations out of fear of missing out (FOMO).
The ABBYY State of Intelligent Automation Report finds that three quarters (58%) of UK IT leaders have only invested in AI technologies because they fear their businesses will fall behind.
This is despite leaders raising concerns about abuse by their staff (37%), the costs involved (37%), data protection (36%), AI hallucinations (35%) and compliance (32%).
Are companies only investing in AI because of FOMO?
The research also found that the average AI investment in UK organisations was almost three-quarters of a million (£730,000), with nearly all respondents (95%) expressing plans to increase investment in the next 12 months. However, more than one in three (37%) remain concerned about the financial implications of deploying artificial intelligence in the workplace.
Compared to other countries, UK employees were more likely to use AI, with three quarters (77%) using GenAI, compared to two thirds (65%) globally.
Key areas of focus for future development include the ethical use of AI, responsible AI policies, and understanding AI regulations.
Despite expressed concerns about the evolving technology, trust in AI appears to be increasing, with decision makers showing the greatest trust in small language models (SLMs) and purpose-built AI (92%).
Maxime Vermeir, ABBYY’s Senior Director of AI Strategy, said it was “no surprise to him that organizations are placing more trust in small language models due to the tendency of LLMs to hallucinate and deliver inaccurate and potentially harmful outcomes. We are seeing more business leaders turning to SLMs to better address their specific business needs, enabling more reliable results.”
ABBYY’s report is another reminder of the cost of implementing AI technologies and the importance of developing the right strategies before investing out of fear.