Report shows 25 per cent of business executives anticipate workforce reduction as primary impact of generative AI
by CM staff
In July and August 2023, MIT Technology Review Insights polled 1000 business leaders about their organizations' approaches to implementing generative AI technologies.
CAMBRIDGE — Produced by MIT Technology Review Insights in partnership with Adobe, EY, and Owkin, “Generative AI deployment: Strategies for smooth scaling” explores global leaders’ key decision points for putting AI to use in the enterprise.
In July and August 2023, MIT Technology Review Insights polled 1000 business leaders about their organizations’ approaches to implementing generative AI technologies. Respondents were distributed among 11 industries, including consumer goods and retail, financial services, manufacturing, and pharma and health care. The report also draws on in-depth interviews with academics, data leaders, and AI experts.
Executives recognize the transformational potential of generative AI, but they are moving cautiously to deploy. Nearly all firms — 96 per cent, believe generative AI will affect their business. However, 9 per cent have fully deployed a generative AI use case in their organization, which indicates a wait-and-see posture.
Most executives (75 per cent) plan to work with partners to bring generative AI to their organization at scale, while 10 per cent consider partnering to be a top implementation challenge, suggesting that a strong ecosystem of providers and services is available for collaboration and co-creation.
Access to generative AI will benefit small and large companies alike. Company size has no bearing on a firm’s likelihood to be experimenting with generative AI, our poll found. Small companies (those with annual revenue less than $500 million) were three times more likely than mid-sized firms ($500 million to $1 billion) to have already deployed a generative AI use case (13 per cent versus 4 per cent).
One-quarter of respondents expect generative AI’s primary effect to be to reduce their workforce. The figure was higher in industrial sectors like energy and utilities (43 per cent), manufacturing (34 per cent), and transport and logistics (31 per cent). It was lowest in IT and telecommunications (7 per cent). Overall, this is a modest figure compared to the more dystopian job replacement scenarios.
“Business leaders are cautiously pursuing the transformative potential of generative AI, with nearly all respondents acknowledging its impact on their businesses,” says Laurel Ruma, global editorial director, MIT Technology Review Insights. “However, only a small fraction have fully embraced generative AI use cases, highlighting a measured approach to implementation. Workforce implications vary across industries, and while regulation looms, uncertainty stands as today’s primary challenge.”
