Half of Irish managers ‘don’t fully understand’ AI potential - survey

Almost half of senior Irish managers do not understand the potential benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) in a business setting, technology decision-makers say, despite having plans to implement the technology over the coming years.

Close to two-fifths of information technology leaders in larger organisations in the Republic believe their company must adopt AI over the next three years to maintain competitiveness, according a survey conducted by TechCentral on behalf of Microsoft tech consultancy Storm Technology.

The poll of 100 IT professionals and decision-makers indicates that companies investing in the technology plan to spend an average of €436,000 on its implementation this year, an increase of 45 per cent from last year.

Not everyone is on the same page, though. Some three quarters of survey respondents said their company is already rolling out or plans to adopt AI to some extent but 49 per cent said their senior management team does not fully understand the technology’s potential.

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Just under a quarter, meanwhile, said their organisation is already using AI in a limited manner with a clear strategy in mind while 15 per cent do not have a clear strategy, IT leaders said.

“If Irish organisations truly want to capitalise on the potential that AI offers, they need to deploy not just the solutions that fit their business needs, but also build out the processes and protocols to effectively and ethically manage it – thus establishing trust with staff, customers and suppliers,” said Storm Technology chief executive Karl Flannery. “If Irish organisations truly want to capitalise on the potential that AI offers, they need to deploy not just the solutions that fit their business needs, but also build out the processes and protocols to effectively and ethically manage it – thus establishing trust with staff, customers and suppliers.”

Meanwhile, cybersecurity remains the top area of priority for IT expenditure for organisations this year, according to the survey, followed by cloud infrastructure, business software and AI.

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