CEOs’ AI fixation an example of ‘shiny object syndrome’

Execs are bullish on AI but aren't too concerned about the consequences of using it, says Billy MacInnes

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30 June 2023

The debate around the benefits and potential pitfalls of generative AI has not strayed far from the headlines in recent months and a new IBM report, entitled “CEO decision-making in the age of AI, Act with intention”, has only provide more fodder for those arguing for and against it.

Before we get to that, let’s highlight the fact that the CEOs from UK&I companies who took part in the survey placed productivity at the top of their list of priorities in 2023, up from fourth place in 2022. As I have mentioned before, it’s always slightly bemusing to me that productivity isn’t always top of the list, especially when it comes to technology investments.

The survey found that the top challenges for UK&I CEOs were sustainability (41%) and cybersecurity (38%). While it’s no surprise to see cybersecurity place so strongly, except perhaps that the expectation might be for it to place higher, it’s a pleasant surprise to see sustainability rise so high up the agenda.

Anyway, back to generative AI. The same survey asked US CEOs from multinational companies for their views on the technology. The results suggested it’s already becoming embedded in many organisations. Half of the CEOs stated they were already integrating generative AI into products and services, 43% said they were using it to inform strategic decisions and 36% were using the technology for operational decisions.

The enthusiasm from CEOs for the technology is probably being fuelled by pressure to adopt it from the majority of board members, investors, creditors, lenders and even employees (not forgetting the press/media).

Team spirit

Nevertheless, there was an interesting discordance between CEOs and others in the organisation. While 69% of CEO respondents believed generative AI would deliver benefits to their organisation, only 29% of executive teams thought they had the in-house expertise to adopt the technology.

More disturbing was the finding that less than a third (30%) of non-CEO senior executives from multinational companies believed their organisation was ready to adopt generative AI responsibly.

Worst of all, the survey found that two-thirds of CEOs were making decisions without assessing the potential impact of generative AI on their workforce. In other words, they were “acting without a clear view of how to help their workforce with the disruption and inevitable transitions AI will bring”. And it’s not as if they haven’t started making decisions. As many as 43% have already reduced or redeployed their workforce and another 28% plan to do so in the next 12 months.

When you marry that finding with the large number of executives who don’t believe their organisation is ready to adopt the technology responsibly, you have to wonder whether CEOs might be jumping the gun just a little bit here. Reflecting on the results, Rahul Kalia, managing partner, IBM Consulting, UK and Ireland said that CEOs across all industries were “carefully considering how best to leverage generative AI to propel their organisations ahead of the competition by driving innovation, productivity and profitability”. I have to say that if what’s going on here counts as “careful consideration”, I’d hate to see what their definition of “reckless” might be. So yes, I’m a tad sceptical – as are the 70% of executives who don’t believe their organisation is ready to adopt the technology.

The Web page for the report highlights the following quote by Roberto Tomasi CEO, Autostrade per l’Italia (ASPI): “Sometimes the CEO has to make a decision without a clear view to the final result.”

Having read the findings of the survey, I’m not filled with confidence about the quality of those CEO decisions.