AI – the most impactful tech for 4th year in a row

I have been writing about AI many times already and I am always telling myself that all has been said. But whenever I am preparing to write a new column and are looking at impacts on business, AI pops up again.

Let my highlight a few developments:

• CEOs think AI is the technology most likely to impact their industry in the next three years, according to 21 percent of respondents to a Gartner survey released recently. The firm surveyed 400 CEOs and other senior executives.

• AI’s potential to accelerate productivity matches the top two strategic priorities CEOs are working on in 2023: growth and technological development, according to the survey.

• AI is reaching the tipping point where CEOs who have not yet invested in AI become concerned that they are missing something competitively important.

• A heated competition is playing out in the vendor market, with tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google vying for enterprise buy-in into their generative AI solutions and products.

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The argument for implementing generative AI

The argument for implementing the technology is simple: generative AI will enhance efficiency by augmenting the capabilities of workers and lead to new income streams.

Executive leaders are starting to overcome the major changes of recent years, and moving toward an age in which talent, sustainability and next-level digital change will drive competitive performance.

Interest in the outcomes generative AI can deliver is outweighing concerns over risk or privacy issues, according to a previous Gartner survey.

Two-thirds of executives say generative AI’s benefits outweigh potential risks. Nearly 1 in 5 leaders say their companies have advanced pilots or are in the production stages of using generative AI.

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Regulation is still playing catch-up

As the technology powering generative AI applications evolves, regulation is still playing catch-up.

Some experts agree generative AI and its potential effects on society require a more cohesive, thoughtful approach to legislation. But – in my view – two factors will make regulating AI extremely difficult:

1. There’s a broad business opinion that the exciting advantages of generative AI outweigh the potential risks, including political risks.

2. The development of new AI applications by competing companies is explosive. And young people are making use of the new developments daily and are forming new companies to exploit competitive advantages!

Some businesses are rushing to integrate large language models and generative AI capabilities and tools into their tech stacks, while others are taking a more cautious approach. No matter where a business is on its AI journey, there are risks and rewards that come with adopting new technologies.

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Conclusion

Human involvement will be key to how generative AI will shape our future.

Generative AI is capturing the zeitgeist, leading to questions about job loss and creation as tech evolves. Experts say it’s more likely to augment than replace.

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Contributed by: Henry J. Schumacher (schumacher@eitsc.com), President of the European Innovation, Technology and Science Center Foundation (EITSC). 

This article was first published in BusinessMirror on 23 May 2023.