Four in five (79%) senior business leaders are now (or will be) deploying AI tools to stay competitive and improve the customer experience, new research shows.
An IBM survey of more than 1,600 senior managers in six European countries revealed how work has changed for many companies’ top executives since the introduction of new generative AI solutions.
An overwhelming majority (93%) now believe that generative AI can facilitate better leadership decisions, with even company board members supporting the technology.
Generative AI is deeply embedded in corporate decision-making
As well as improving the customer experience, bosses say AI can also help them improve operational efficiency and increase sales and revenue.
CEO of IBM UK and Ireland Dr. Nicola Hodson said: “It has been heralded as a transformative tool to generate insights, reduce costs and improve operational efficiency. It is not surprising that business leaders are moving quickly to embrace generative AI tools… This latest research shows a real sense of opportunity in boardrooms across Europe.”
However, artificial intelligence does not come without its challenges, and almost two in five (38%) of UK respondents raised concerns about privacy and surveillance in their journey to deploying responsible AI. Greater than this, however, were the costs associated with deploying AI, and the pressure to hire specialist talent from an already depleted talent pool amid a global skills shortage.
Only three in five (61%) say their existing workforce has the right skills to adopt generative AI, leaving almost all (93%) leaders now facing the next steps to ensure they have the right skills in their company.
Hodson added: “Choosing the right approach to leadership in this new era will be critical to success and will deliver far-reaching benefits – for business value, its people and society as a whole.”
Clearly, artificial intelligence is not a plug-and-play solution that is guaranteed to deliver results for everyone at the same pace.
Looking ahead, IBM recommends four key principles for a responsible AI strategy: Prioritize the value creation potential of AI rather than relying on outsourcing to third parties; be willing to combine open-source, private and proprietary models; build with open, hybrid cloud technologies to maximize cost, performance and latency optimization; and accountability.