DM Jan-Feb 2024

Dm RESEARCH: AI STRATEGIES
Bridging the AI divide
84% of businesses plan to increase AI
investment in the coming year, but differing
views on AI may affect workplace adoption,
according to new research from Quocirca
Anew study by Quocirca suggests that
while 70% of organisations are using
artificial intelligence in their business,
there are significant differences in how
knowledge workers and IT decision-makers
(ITDMs) perceive and approach AI adoption.
The study, which surveyed 800
respondents from a variety of industries
across the UK, France, Germany and the US,
found that knowledge workers are less
positive about the use of AI than ITDMs,
with 21% of ITDMs saying their AI projects
have exceeded expectations, compared to
only 8% of knowledge workers. More than
one third (36%) of knowledge workers
believe the top driver for AI adoption is cost
reduction, compared to 25% of ITDMs.
Knowledge workers are more concerned
about the risks of AI, such as job
displacement, where 31% say it is a concern
compared to just 19% of ITDMs. They also
show greater concern about losing control
over decision-making, the accuracy of AI,
and have more ethical concerns than ITDMs.
"This research reveals a considerable gap in
understanding and perception of AI
between different stakeholders," says Louella
Fernandes, CEO, Quocirca. "Businesses and
vendors must work together to bridge this
gap if AI is to be adopted in ways that
unlock its immense potential."
The study's findings show the need for
better communications between
knowledge workers and ITDMs about AI.
ITDMs need to be aware of AI's broader
potential beyond the standard goals of
cost reduction, efficiency. and increased
productivity, while knowledge workers
need to be assured that AI will not lead to
job losses or other organisational risks.
Key takeaways from the study include:
The AI genie is already out of the bottle.
Overall, 70% of respondents state that
some form of AI is already used within
their organisation, with 30% indicating
that AI will be in use within 12 months.
Generative AI tops the AI priority list for
investment (40%), followed by machine
learning (32%) and RPA (31%).
AI investment is set to increase over the
coming year. Over the next year, 84% of
organisations report that AI investment
will either increase significantly (33%) or
increase somewhat (51%).
79% say their AI deployments have met
or exceeded expectations. This rises to
88% of IT decision makers and drops to
70% among knowledge workers.
Cost reduction (31%), improved
customer service (29%), and automation
of repetitive tasks (27%) are the top
drivers for AI adoption. Knowledge
workers place more emphasis on cost
reduction (36% compared to 25% of IT
Decision Makers) and repetitive task
automation (29%).
IT automation (34%), cybersecurity
(30%), quality control, and customer
service (both 29%) are the primary use
cases for AI.
IT operations staff are the most likely to
be using AI (48%) followed by IT
developers (46%) and managers (34%).
Security and privacy are the dominant
concerns (31%).
Concern about AI-powered decisions
being wrong (28%) is the second most
common concern.
Cost is the biggest barrier to AI
implementation (23%) followed by
regulatory concern (22%) and a lack of
skilled staff (22%).
One quarter of respondents are worried
about job displacement. This is felt
particularly strongly among knowledge
workers, with 31% listing this as a major
concern compared with just 19% of
ITDMs.
Fernandes concludes: "Knowledge Workers
are typically more closely involved in day-today
operations and are therefore more likely
to be aware of the potential cost savings
achievable from specific task automation
than their counterparts in IT. However,
overall IT is leading the AI adoption drive,
with IT automation and cybersecurity the
leading use cases, and operations and
development teams most likely to be using
AI already. Organisations should foster a
culture of collaboration between ITDMs and
knowledge workers so they can harness the
power of AI while mitigating the potential
negative impact."
More info: print2025.com/reports/aiadoption-trends-2024/
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