Dive Brief:
- As business leaders head into 2025, most recognize there are challenges ahead in striving to achieve AI goals in the face of fatigue and burnout, according to EY research.
- More than half of senior leaders feel like they're failing amid AI’s rapid growth, and a similar proportion reported companywide enthusiasm for AI adoption is on the decline, the survey of 500 leaders found.
- Business leaders said employees struggle with feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by the persistent onslaught of information and developments tied to AI.
Dive Insight:
Even with bumps in the road, enterprises are not giving up on AI dreams.
More than one-third of senior leaders surveyed said their company is planning to invest at least $10 million in AI next year, up from 30% six months ago, EY data shows. But while some positive gains have emerged, CIOs often feel like the deck is stacked against them.
Leaders blamed infrastructure and data processes for holding their organization back. Nearly two-thirds of business chiefs surveyed by EY highlighted difficulties in keeping workers motivated to embrace the technology, too.
Most IT vendors have rushed to capitalize on enterprise AI readiness gaps. From tailored tools to customized training, AI providers are working to boost the technology’s adoption while rapidly scaling up capacity to meet demand.
But what began as a wide-eyed sprint into generative AI has settled into more of a measured march for technology leaders who now view the technology through a more skeptical lens.
Around 3 in 5 senior business leaders reported growing interest in responsible AI practices over the past year, up from 53% six months ago, according to the EY survey. Around half intend to put a larger focus on the technology’s risks in 2025, and about the same proportion plan to increase required employee training on responsible use.
