*Workday research: ‘AI IQ’ study reveals AI adoption barriers for business leaders*
By Josh Krist, EMEA Staff Writer
A new Workday survey of 1,000 business decision-makers from around the globe cuts through the hype and reveals what leaders are really doing, thinking and feeling when it comes to AI – perhaps the most transformative technology of our lifetime. Keep reading to discover our findings.
AI is having its moment. Something that’s always been futuristic has suddenly become very real and very now. In fact, the Workday ‘AI IQ: Insights on artificial intelligence in the enterprise’ report, based on a survey of 1,000 business decision-makers from around the globe, found that many business leaders are currently using some form of AI or ML to further their business – ranging from small pilots to full-blown, enterprise-wide deployments.
If you believe some AI pundits, the changes the technology will bring are so profound that we can barely imagine them given our current frame of reference. Our ‘AI IQ’ study cuts through the hype and speculation to find out what business leaders are really doing, thinking and feeling when it comes to what may be the most transformative technology of our lifetime. Here’s a look at some of our most compelling findings.
Leaders want less artificial, more intelligence
Overall, we found that business leaders are fairly certain their AI investments will increase over time and that AI will bring tangible business benefits. But there’s a caveat: leaders aren’t sure they can rely on the data they use to power AI and ML or if they’re deploying these technologies in the right places, in the right way and at the speed the business needs. They’re also uncertain if the people in their organisations have the necessary skills to get the most value out of these technologies.
We also found, unlike previous surveys about transformative technologies, that respondents are in almost unanimous agreement that AI will indeed be a game-changer – or at least a game-enhancer. A whopping 80% of respondents agree that leveraging AI and ML is a requirement to keep their business competitive, and two-thirds say AI and ML have already increased productivity and operational efficiencies.
73% of decision-makers are under pressure to increase adoption or investments in AI and ML.
Another strong point of agreement: humans need to stay in the loop at key moments. More than nine in 10 decision-makers (93%) believe it is important for a human to assist AI or ML when making significant decisions, rather than allowing the technologies to do it alone. And only 29% said they are very confident that AI and ML are currently being applied ethically in business.
We found that 73% of the decision-makers surveyed are under pressure to increase adoption or investments in AI and ML. Although almost everyone feels pressure to move quickly with AI, and that pressure mostly comes from the top, the motivation for the pressure varies. IT leaders feel the pressure to support overall business competitiveness. In HR, the pressure is about improving the employee experience, while finance decision-makers say they’re being asked to address skills gaps.
The bottom line is leaders know they need to execute on AI and ML now. Yet, they must also quickly determine how to do so in a lasting way that will deliver immediate value today and ongoing value tomorrow, all in a fast-changing space.
Looking at our research results, optimistic – yet anxious – is a good summation of how business leaders are feeling about AI.
In my conversations with customer and partner CIOs and technology leaders, the biggest challenge I’m hearing with AI and ML is that people aren’t sure where to start, and they wish they had a better idea of where others are finding success.
Other top findings from the report include:
Increased pressure
73% feel pressure to increase adoption or investments in AI and ML.
83% intend to either keep investments in AI and ML the same or increase them next year.
87% say AI and ML are influencing technology purchasing decisions.
Risks and obstacles
75% say many hindrances are preventing their organisation from fully implementing AI and ML.
Top risks to implementing AI include data and security (48%), concerns about accountability (47%) and inability to measure return on investment (46%).
77% say uptake would increase in their organisation if there were fewer risks involved.
Data difficulties
77% are concerned about the timeliness or reliability of data their organisation will use for AI and ML.
29% of people from organisations currently using AI believe insufficient data volume or quality is to blame for AI falling short of expectations.
33% of respondents rank data security and privacy as a top barrier to entry for their organisations to use AI and ML.
Rare consensus
99% agree there are business benefits from investing in AI.
Reasons for benefits include improved decision-making (41%), automating business processes (38%) and improved employee retention/experience (35%).
80% agree that AI and ML are required to keep their business competitive.
Looking ahead
We conducted this survey because we know that the future of many organisations, industries and the business world overall is being made right now. As you read these lines, an even larger and more ambitious survey on AI and ML is being conducted in collaboration with Longitude Research, a Financial Times company. We look forward to sharing these findings, but we know that with such transformative and fast-moving technology, fresh insights at this very moment are extremely valuable.
Jim Stratton, Chief Technology Officer at Workday – who along with other Workday leaders has been vocal and clear about AI’s value to businesses – lends his executive perspective to this research. He writes in the foreword to our ‘AI IQ’ study:
“In my conversations with customer and partner CIOs and technology leaders, the biggest challenge I’m hearing with AI and ML is that people aren’t sure where to start, and they wish they had a better idea of where others are finding success, and encountering roadblocks, on their journey. That’s exactly what this report is for, and I hope that after reading it and absorbing the insights it offers, leaders will be able to tell a better story about AI and their own organisation’s goals.”
33% of decision-makers rank data security and privacy as a top barrier to entry for their organisations to use AI and ML.
