Leaders complain AI adoption is coming too fast

Leaders complain AI adoption is coming too fast

New York, 11/3/2021

The adoption of AI technologies across industries is moving too fast, according to about half of executives in retail, tech and industrial manufacturing.

This „COVID-19 whiplash“ is detailed in KPMG’s „Thriving in an AI World“ study, which finds that the pandemic is accelerating AI adoption across all industries.

Key findings:

● 55% of executives in industrial manufacturing and 49% in retail and tech said, „AI is evolving faster than it should.“

● 63% of small business executives said the same, along with 51% of high AI knowledge executives and 51% of Gen Z and Millennial executives.

88% of small business executives and 80% of large business executives said AI helped their company during the pandemic.

● 92% of executives with high AI knowledge said they would like to see more government regulation of AI technologies.

The survey polled 950 business and IT executives who have at least a moderate level of AI knowledge.

In last year’s report, industry leaders said AI is not being implemented fast enough, according to Traci Gusher, principal of artificial intelligence at KPMG. Now they say „it’s happening too fast.“

According to Gusher, this is likely due to current debates about the ethical use and regulation of AI. „Many executives don’t have insight into what their organizations are doing to control and regulate AI,“ she said, so they may fear that „risks are emerging.“