Less than half of company CEOs believe their Chief Information Officers are “AI-savvy”, despite more than three quarters of the business leaders saying AI is vital for the future.
A new Gartner survey has revealed that 77 percent of CEOs believe AI was ushering in a new business era, yet they felt their organization’s leading technology experts lacked the knowledge and capabilities to support, drive, or accelerate business outcomes in this evolving landscape.
VP Analyst and Gartner Fellow David Furlonger, said only 44 percent of CIOs were deemed by their CEOs to be “AI-savvy” according to the recent survey of hundreds of senior executives world-wide.
“We have never seen such a disproportionate gap in CEOs’ impressions about technological disruption,” Mr Furlonger said.
“AI is not just an incremental change from digital business. AI is a step change in how business and society work,” he said.
“A significant implication is that, if savviness across the C-suite is not rapidly improved, competitiveness will suffer, and corporate survival will be at stake.”
Gartner Principal Analyst Jennifer Carter said CEOs believed the top two limiting factors impacting AI’s deployment and use were the inability to hire adequate numbers of skilled people and an inability to calculate value or outcomes.
“CEOs have shifted their view of AI from just a tool to a transformative way of working,” Ms Carter said.
“This change has highlighted the importance of upskilling. As leaders recognize AI’s potential and its impact on their organizations, they understand that success isn’t just about hiring new talent.
“Instead, it’s about equipping their current employees with the skills needed to seamlessly incorporate AI into everyday tasks.”
She said the focus on upskilling was a strategic response to AI’s evolving role in business, ensuring that the entire organization could adapt and thrive in this new paradigm.
“Sixty-six percent of CEOs said their business models are not fit for AI purposes, according to the survey.
“Executives must, therefore, build and improve AI savviness related to every mission-critical priority.”
