Why CEOs think AI is better than humans in being productive

Generative AI is a rapidly evolving technology that is garnering mixed sentiments from business leaders, ranging from optimism to apprehension.

While generative AI has enormous potential to impact businesses positively, it will take time to implement, and businesses need to understand its limitations and challenges.

A new global study by the IBM (NYSE: IBM) Institute for Business Value found that nearly half of CEOs surveyed identify productivity as their highest business priority—up from sixth place in 2022.

They recognize technology modernization is key to achieving their productivity goals, ranking it as second highest priority. Yet, CEOs can face key barriers as they race to modernize and adopt new technologies like generative AI.

The annual CEO study “CEO decision-making in the age of AI” found three-quarters of CEO respondents believe that competitive advantage will depend on who has the most advanced generative AI.

However, executives are also weighing potential risks or barriers of the technology such as bias, ethics and security. More than half (57%) of CEOs surveyed are concerned about data security and 48% worry about bias or data accuracy.

There is also a disconnect between CEOs and their teams when it comes to AI readiness. Half (50%) of CEOs surveyed report they are already integrating generative AI into products and services, and 43% say they are using generative AI to inform strategic decisions.

Yet, just 29% of their executive teams agree they have the in-house expertise to adopt generative AI; only 30% of non-CEO senior executives surveyed say that their organization is ready to adopt generative AI responsibly.

“Generative AI can reduce the barriers to AI adoption and half of CEOs interviewed are actively exploring it to drive a new wave of productivity, efficiency and quality of service across industries,” said Jesus Mantas, Global Managing Partner, IBM Consulting.

“CEOs need to assess their company requirements around data privacy, intellectual property protection, security, algorithmic accountability and governance in order to plan their deployment of emerging use cases of generative AI at scale.”

To learn more about the top trends and strategic bets business leaders are making to boost productivity, visit https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/en-us/report/seven-bets.