IBM: CEOs conflicted on role of AI at work
According to the tech giant’s global CEO report.
News In Brief
The use of AI at work is divisive.
IBM's CEO report found that leadership is trying to balance the pros and cons of AI.
Here's why bottom-up decision making could be solution.
Half of CEOs are already implementing generative AI systems into their organizations’ digital products and services. And 43% are already utilizing the tool for decision making.
This is according to IBM’s recent decision making in the age of AI study, which surveyed 3,000 CEOs and business leaders from around the world.
69% of CEOs see AI as offering broad benefits across their companies, and the survey found they largely feel their organizations are prepared to begin adopting the tech.
But only 29% of non-CEO executives believe they have the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively implement generative AI into their businesses. Reconciliation is needed.
Three in four CEOs believe that future competitive advantage will be determined by who has the most advanced AI.
But nearly half of CEOs surveyed also have concerns surrounding the accuracy and bias of data generated by the tool.
Look to those on the ground
One major challenge faced by CEOs and their organizations is that every stakeholder in a business has an opinion about AI and its proper utilization.
Credit: IBM’s report, CEO decision making in the age of AI.
This means that CEOs are experiencing pressure from all sides and in opposite directions. With such a flurry of opinion, external pressure, and contradictory ideals, top-level executives need to turn to their employees and embrace bottom-up decision making.
This is crucial because, as is often the case, workers are more familiar with the tool than their bosses and can offer important insight to its efficacy and planned implementation.
IBM’s report found that only one in four organizations have offered any rules on the use of generative AI in the workplace. In the absence of guidance, employees have already begun utilizing the tools, with or without their company’s stamp of approval.
The good news is that CEOs are starting to listen to their workforce. IBM found that 84% have already completed or initiated AI-use case studies with their employees.
70% have launched or completed formal business plans for the new super tool. Three quarters expect to have one ready-to-deploy completed case study for the use of generative AI within the next 12 months.
However, more work needs to be done. Just one in three CEOs have meaningfully thought about the impact of generative AI on their workforce.
Conversations between executives and employees need to continue to expand.
