After years of promise and speculation, artificial intelligence (AI) for the business world is here, and it's shaping how companies, big and small, plan for the future. Businesses are increasingly investing in AI, and success stories about companies using AI to cut costs abound. Corporations no longer need to be persuaded to use the technology, but many are still stumped about how precisely AI fits into their operations.
Businesses are Interested in AI, but Their Use of It Varies
Most companies are at least thinking about how AI could affect their business. Goldman Sachs strategists found that 36% of S&P 500 companies mentioned AI in their fourth-quarter earnings calls this year. In a PwC survey of more than 4,000 CEOs around the world conducted last fall, 70% said they expected generative AI — a form of AI that creates content such as text and images — to significantly change the way their company creates, delivers, and captures value in the next three years.
"Every publicly traded company in the world today, whether in the US, UK, or Asian markets, is being asked by shareholders, 'What is your AI strategy?'" Umesh Sachdev, the CEO of the AI software provider Uniphore, told Business Insider.
Sachdev said that before the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2022, companies bought AI as individual solutions for different parts of the business. Now, they are taking a more centralized approach and looking at AI "as a horizontal infrastructure for the whole business," he said.
Despite All the Chatter, Deployment Remains Low
A survey by MIT Technology Review Insights and the Australian telecoms company Telstra of 300 business leaders across Asia-Pacific, the Americas, and Europe found that while 76% of the companies had experimented with generative AI in 2023, only 9% had adopted the technology widely.
A paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that the manufacturing, information services, and healthcare industries had some of the highest levels of AI adoption in 2017, while construction and retail had some of the lowest.
For some companies, it's all hype and no action. Gary Gensler, the Securities and Exchange Commission chair, recently described companies that only purport to use AI as engaging in "AI washing." In March, two investment advisors accused of making false and misleading statements about their use of AI agreed to pay six-figure fines.
Discussion Points:
Read the article: https://www.businessinsider.com/what-the-ai-revolution-means-for-business-2024-5
Businesses are Interested in AI, but Their Use of It Varies
Most companies are at least thinking about how AI could affect their business. Goldman Sachs strategists found that 36% of S&P 500 companies mentioned AI in their fourth-quarter earnings calls this year. In a PwC survey of more than 4,000 CEOs around the world conducted last fall, 70% said they expected generative AI — a form of AI that creates content such as text and images — to significantly change the way their company creates, delivers, and captures value in the next three years.
"Every publicly traded company in the world today, whether in the US, UK, or Asian markets, is being asked by shareholders, 'What is your AI strategy?'" Umesh Sachdev, the CEO of the AI software provider Uniphore, told Business Insider.
Sachdev said that before the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2022, companies bought AI as individual solutions for different parts of the business. Now, they are taking a more centralized approach and looking at AI "as a horizontal infrastructure for the whole business," he said.
Despite All the Chatter, Deployment Remains Low
A survey by MIT Technology Review Insights and the Australian telecoms company Telstra of 300 business leaders across Asia-Pacific, the Americas, and Europe found that while 76% of the companies had experimented with generative AI in 2023, only 9% had adopted the technology widely.
A paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that the manufacturing, information services, and healthcare industries had some of the highest levels of AI adoption in 2017, while construction and retail had some of the lowest.
For some companies, it's all hype and no action. Gary Gensler, the Securities and Exchange Commission chair, recently described companies that only purport to use AI as engaging in "AI washing." In March, two investment advisors accused of making false and misleading statements about their use of AI agreed to pay six-figure fines.
Discussion Points:
- How can businesses overcome the challenges of integrating AI into their operations?
- What are the potential risks of "AI washing" for companies and their stakeholders?
- Which industries do you think will benefit the most from AI in the next few years, and why?
- How can companies ensure they are using AI ethically and responsibly?
Read the article: https://www.businessinsider.com/what-the-ai-revolution-means-for-business-2024-5