The research report, Amplifying Human Potential: Towards Purposeful Artificial Intelligence, polled 1,600 senior business decision makers at large organizations across the world, Infosys says.

AI is perceived as a long-term strategic priority for innovation, according to the report, with 76 percent of the respondents citing AI as fundamental to the success of their organization’s strategy, and 64 percent believing that their organization’s future growth is dependent on large-scale AI adoption.

While there are ethical and job related concerns — 62 percent believe that stringent ethical standards are needed to ensure the success of AI — most respondents seem optimistic about redeploying displaced employees with higher value work. The majority, 85 percent, plan to train employees about the benefits and use of AI, and 80 percent of companies replacing roles with AI technologies will retrain or redeploy displaced employees.

Key research findings:

Businesses expect noticeable AI adoption and growth by 2020. Organizations that have already deployed or have plans to deploy AI technologies expect to see a 39 percent average increase in revenue by 2020, alongside a 37 percent reduction in costs. 76 percent of IT and business decision makers see AI as pivotal to the success of their organization.

Businesses plan to invest in skills development. In 80 percent of cases where companies are replacing roles with AI, organizations are redeploying or retraining staff to retain them in the business. Furthermore, 53 percent are specifically investing in skills development. Organizations that have fewer AI related skills are more likely to redeploy workers impacted by AI adoption, whereas those with more AI-related skills are more likely to re-train employees, according to the study.

The leading industries that plan to retain and retrain their workers are: fast-moving consumer goods (94 percent); aerospace and automotive (87 percent); energy, oil and gas (80 percent); and pharmaceutical and life sciences (78 percent). The research reveals AI will cause greater investment in workforces, specifically China (95 percent), France (90 percent), Germany (89 percent), the UK (82 percent), and the US (76 percent).

Addressing ethical concerns is essential for AI success. Two-thirds of those surveyed have not fully considered the ethical issues related to AI, such as employee concerns about handing over control, and industry regulations. Further, 90 percent say their organization’s employees face challenges or concerns with AI adoption, and 88 percent report challenges or concerns from customers and suppliers. In total, 53 percent agree that ethical concerns are a significant obstacle to effective application of AI technology.

Market and industry results show differences. Based on the responses, companies in India and China are more likely to state that they are ahead of their industry competitors when it comes to AI use, followed by Germany, the US, UK, France. Fast moving consumer goods (57 percent) and telecoms (48 percent) are much more likely to report that they have already felt AI disrupting their sector. Pharmaceuticals and life sciences reported the widest usage of AI technologies that are working according to their expectations, leading to the highest AI Maturity Index scores by industry.

Businesses are at the start of their AI journey. One in 10 respondents that have deployed AI technologies believe that their organization is fully maximizing the current available benefits and capabilities of AI. The majority (90 percent) report that their organization’s employees face challenges or concerns relating to the adoption of AI. Around four in ten respondents believe that the time to implement, ease of use and the interoperability with other systems and platforms are areas of AI that require the most improvement before it can be effective in their organization. There are also areas of AI adoption that need to be addressed with training, education and transparency in the workplace. Safety of data (43 percent), job security (40 percent) and pay rates (30 percent) are the foremost areas of workforce concern despite the broadly positive outlook for AI adoption.

Source: Infosys