Senior executives and users have sharply different opinions about the reliability of artificial intelligence – international survey

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 06. 27. 10:24

There is a sharp divergence in the views of senior executives and users on the trustworthiness of artificial intelligence. Whether it is data protection, accuracy or transparency, the average person is much more concerned about the technology than decision-makers, according to a recent international study by EY, which surveyed 975 top managers in seven different positions, including CEOs, finance, HR, IT, technology, marketing and risk management leaders.

The majority of senior executives believe that their companies have already fully or largely implemented artificial intelligence and have exploited its potential. In fact, nearly two-thirds of respondents believe that their company and their customers have similar views on the benefits and risks of the new technology.

“The reality is that most companies are only scratching the surface of the real potential of AI. It is a huge mistake to identify this general-purpose technology exclusively with various large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT. This perspective limits companies and will very quickly put them at a huge competitive disadvantage,”

– stressed Dr. Tilesch George, EY AI Confidence Lead, AI.

According to EY research, users are much more concerned about the harmful consequences of using AI than top managers. Most are concerned that companies do not take data protection seriously enough, are not transparent about their processes or cannot take responsibility for the decisions made by the system. They consider misleading content and the possibility of manipulation to be the biggest threats, while neither group sees the loss of jobs as a major threat.

Although many companies are already using AI, its responsible use is still a major challenge. More than half of executives say it is difficult to create a set of rules that can truly apply to current AI models. And new applications bring even more uncertainty. Many organizations are already planning to implement next-generation solutions (such as synthetic data, autonomous robots or AI agents) – but they do not yet fully understand the risks involved.

“A truly effective introduction of AI is not just about starting to use one of the popular generative AI applications in the company. This requires a complete rethinking of business processes, finding where the technology brings real value, investing in the big stakes, educating colleagues, adapting the entire organization, and in the meantime, creating a stable framework for managing and operating AI. Decision-makers who recognize this in time and start implementing it in collaboration with the right, world-class experts can ensure their future success,”

– added Dr. Tilesch George.