51% of companies permit the use of AI but don’t have policies in place to govern it.
More than half of Irish companies allow the use of artificial intelligence among their staff but have no governance policies in place, new research reveals.
The research – involving more than 100 IT leaders and decision-makers across larger enterprises and organisation across Ireland – further revealed that three quarters (77%) say their organisation is concerned about how to govern AI.
“Business leaders need to ensure that they are governing the use of such technologies and equipping staff with the knowledge and skills to effectively and securely leverage same”
More worryingly, just 28% have a strategy in place to address any AI risks that arise. This could explain why 80% of IT leaders cited user adoption as a concern when considering AI implementation.
Barriers to AI adoption
Mike Lillis, chief commercial officer, Storm Technology
In terms of the top three most cited barriers to AI adoption in enterprises across Ireland, the research revealed these to be how to manage data, privacy and security (70%), a lack of trust in AI (66%) and a lack of AI skills (57%).
On the topic of skills, 61% of IT leaders don’t believe their team has the skills or knowledge to implement and adopt AI. Taking this one step further, over half (57%) of enterprises appear to be lacking the sufficient in-house expertise to successfully leverage AI to drive business success.
The research further found that nine in ten (90%) see a lack of understanding around ethical and legal implications as a concern when it comes to AI implementation.
Despite these challenges, 43% of IT leaders think AI will help staff to achieve a better work/life balance. Furthermore, over a third (34%) think AI will help to reduce employee burnout in their organisation and a similar proportion (36%) think AI usage will reduce stress levels among staff.
Some 43% of IT leaders are currently using AI to assist with their work and 78% also think AI would allow staff to reduce manual repetitive tasks and focus on more meaningful work.
Despite this, just 28% of respondents think employees are optimistic about the impact of AI on their day-to-day routines and 60% revealed staff are concerned about the impact of AI on their jobs.
“While there is notable uptake in AI usage across enterprises in Ireland – something which is likely to grow in the months and years to come – a number of challenges and concerns remain,” said Mike Lillis, chief commercial officer, Storm Technology.
“Business leaders need to ensure that they are governing the use of such technologies and equipping staff with the knowledge and skills to effectively and securely leverage same. Getting this right has the potential to significantly improve the lives of workers both inside and outside of the modern workplace.
“As well as enabling people to work smarter and achieve more, AI can also drive business benefits, such as improved customer service and talent retention. In other words, by developing a proper strategy around AI, organisations can drive success for the business as a whole and those within it,” Lillis said.
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