Generative AI is pushing AI technology into the enterprise mainstream, according to a just-released survey of senior executives. Credit: thinkstock CIOs are increasing their overall uptake of generative AI, pushing AI from its current role in isolated pockets of the enterprise into more organization-wide uptake and speeding the adoption of the technology across new industries, a new survey found. The survey, published today by MIT Technology Review Insights and sponsored by enterprise data management company Databricks, polled 600 “senior data and technology executives.” It predicted that just about every industry will eventually find a use for generative AI in the near future. Retailers could use the technology for scheduling and installation of heavier goods, manufacturers could use it as a virtual “co-pilot” for service and repair technicians, and media outlets could use it to write articles and headlines. (Note: This article was written without AI assistance.) Furthermore, there’s now more of an expectation that the advent of generative AI will improve existing business AI use cases. Chatbots for customer and employee support, for example, are likely to be improved by wider uptake of generative AI, as well as business transformation efforts around unifying data stores and similar. CIOs generally think that AI has already proved a wise investment in certain areas of business, most notably the “democratization” of data (referring to internal and external data sharing), at 32% of those polled, and AI-powered business intelligence and analytics, also at 32%. Those CIOs are also bullish on the effect of AI on the workforce, according to the report, viewing the technology as a way to help workers do their jobs, rather than a threat to the existence of those jobs. AI should be thought of as a co-pilot, rather than a rival, to human workers, according to Matei Zaharia, co-founder and CTO of Databricks, who was quoted in the report. “I don’t think they’ll be able to do extremely complicated work that requires a lot of planning fully automatically,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anyone whose job is just the super-simple stuff that can be done by a language model.” AI tools aren’t without risks, as most responses to the survey acknowledged. Privacy issues, intellectual property protection and the still-changing legal rules around AI development and use are all considerations that would-be business users of generative AI must address. “CIOs would be reckless to adopt AI tools without managing their risks,” the report said. “[these range] from bias to copyright infringement to privacy and security breaches.” Related content feature IT leaders’ AI talent needs hinge on reskilling Most organizations see the need to revamp their training programs to address AI skills shortages — an approach that delivers intangibles hiring can’t provide. By Grant Gross May 31, 2024 7 mins Hiring Generative AI IT Skills feature Skills the Irish Government CIO uses to advance digital transformation In his eight-year tenure as CIO at Ireland’s Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Barry Lowry always had a vision of what digital government could look like. Here, he details how an approach built on transparency and innovation is conti By Ian Campbell May 31, 2024 8 mins CIO Government IT Cloud Management brandpost Sponsored by Cisco 3 reasons you should adopt cloud monitoring Cloud network management offers increased security, operational efficiencies, and more. By D Matthew Landry May 30, 2024 4 mins Machine Learning opinion Faultless with serverless: Cloud best practices for optimized returns What does a well-defined serverless approach look like? Let's learn some of the best modern approaches to handling Enterprises and SMEs growing serverless computing needs. By Yash Mehta May 30, 2024 5 mins Serverless Computing PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe