AI at the highest: skepticism or caution?
Are managers afraid to personally use generative AI tools? The newest “Pulse” survey A study from Accenture seems to suggest this, because it reports a pointy decline in personal AI usage by business leaders themselves. However, they continue to be optimistic about investing in AI for the remaining of their corporations.
Only 35% of C-level executives say they personally use generative AI tools a minimum of once per week, in comparison with 61% just six months ago, the survey conducted in March shows.
Still, 85% of executives intend to extend their overall investment in generative AI for his or her corporations. While only 10% have scaled generative AI at scale, a minimum of half (50%) expect their corporations to totally scale generative AI enterprise-wide inside the subsequent 6 to 12 months.
As more cash flows backwards and forwards and the risks of counting on machine-generated insights increase, caution has turn out to be the watchword. Currently, only 13% of executives are “extremely confident” that they’ve the appropriate data strategy and core digital skills to effectively leverage generative AI.
After a period of fascination and experimentation with generative AI, leaders are realizing that with great power comes great responsibility; Tools like AI require caution and understanding. There can be an inherent tendency – confirmed in surveys in recent times – for executives to distrust the outcomes generated by AI beyond menial or administrative tasks. “AI is primarily used for tactical rather than strategic purposes – in fact, it is rare to find a coherent long-term AI strategy vision.” Amit Joshi and Michael Wade from IMD Business School in Switzerland was present in a study from two years ago.
“Executives at the executive level are realizing two things,” says Manish Sharma, CEO of Accenture North America, when asked to comment on the corporate’s pulse survey. “First, that they themselves need to understand genetic AI, and second, that there is a need for comprehensive genetic AI training throughout the organization.”
Business leaders “recognize the need for deeper learning with AI,” Sharma continues. “It’s time to move beyond testing and focus on productivity – for themselves and for their organizations.”
Ultimately, any skepticism about AI at this stage is a healthy thing. “Leaders have questions, and that’s a good thing. “It shows they are interested,” says Sharma. “They want to see the ROI, and that’s a good thing, it shows the right ownership.” They want to know what it takes to execute – and that is a great thing, since the answer is to make sure a solid digital core for the corporate , which makes corporations strong and able to embrace any innovation.”
Does this also mean that generative AI has passed its “gee-whiz” stage and is now at risk of slipping into the so-called “valley of disillusionment”? Not quite, believes Sharma. “The importance of generative AI is now almost universally recognized,” he says. “The use of genetic AI varies at scale – those with a strong digital core are evolving quickly. No matter where companies are in the adoption phase, all strategies continue to drive technology and reinvention.”
Accenture itself, with 742,000 employees worldwide, is using AI extensively, adds Sharma. AI is “changing the way we run our businesses. For example, Microsoft Copilot has made our employees more efficient, and 55% told us they saw an improvement in the quality of their work. More than half say they have saved at least 30 minutes per day by using Copilot and several have seen time savings of up to three hours per day. This frees up employees to do more meaningful work more efficiently.”
So, full speed ahead with the AI, but keep your eyes on the road ahead.
