EY study reveals US CEOs and business leaders are AI optimists

A study of US CEOs and business leaders, conducted by EY, revealed that most senior executives (85%) classify themselves as artificial intelligence (AI) optimists, citing increased investment and trust in the technology. Eighty-seven percent say their company will invest in AI initiatives this year.

US C-suite faces international and domestic challenges with AI

Despite the growing optimism around AI among the US C-suite, they are faced with international and domestic challenges with AI that could derail the US’ position in the global AI race, with China taking the lead. More than half of respondents (52%) ranked the US first when asked which country was leading the global AI race and half of respondents (50%) selected the US as the country with the best long-term AI strategy. However, China was the clear runner-up; 47% of respondents selected China as the country that is the biggest obstacle to the advancement of AI in the US. Most respondents (80%) feel the US has the government that is most open to working with companies to adopt AI technology and most (71%) were in favor of uniform global regulation of AI, underscoring a need for countries to work together to develop ground rules for the technology.

Jeff Wong, EY Global Chief Innovation Officer, says:

“AI is transforming businesses for the better as CEOs and boards are seeing the bottom-line impact the technology is having on their businesses. This drive for greater economic impact has led to a global race for adoption, scaling and greater efficiencies in the technology. While US business leaders believe that the US is leading this race, China is focused on becoming an AI leader by 2030 and the gap is already smaller than it seems for this aspiration to become a reality. For the US to maintain a strong position, business leaders need to advocate now for stronger AI education programs, collaboration among both the public and private sectors and focus on ensuring the reliability and performance of the technology.”