Dive Brief:
- Boardroom executives have mixed views on the ideal pace of AI adoption and current state of readiness, according to a Deloitte Global report published Tuesday. Despite a lack of consensus, leaders agree that there’s currently a lack of board-level AI insight.
- Just 2% of boards said they were highly knowledgeable and experienced in AI, the survey of 468 board members and C-suite executives found. More than half say their organization is AI-ready, while 41% disagree.
- Around half of respondents said they want the pace of adoption to accelerate, while a similar proportion expressed concern or dissatisfaction with the amount of time spent addressing AI.
Dive Insight:
AI adoption and AI governance are two very different processes. Boards remain unsure of where they can offer the best/most productive guidance.
“Industries and geographies vary widely in AI adoption — some enterprises are just beginning, while others are strategizing or deploying AI,” Lara Abrash, chair, Deloitte US, said in an email to CIO Dive. “Consequently, AI's presence on board agendas is inconsistent.”
Enthusiasm is starting to wane as the executives grapple with a long list of obstacles preventing organizations from reaching their AI goals. Board-level interest fell eight percentage points since Q1 2024, according to a Deloitte report published in August.
Even so, enterprises are planning to allocate more resources to AI initiatives next year.
“There is a real danger in organizations not moving quickly enough to fold AI into the board agenda,” Abrash said in the report.
Enterprise progress isn’t happening in a vacuum. Across the globe, data and privacy standards are tightening as new regulations focused on mitigating AI’s risks gain traction. Compliance with evolving standards is crucial for building trust internally and with customers. It also sets businesses up for success.
The opportunity to gain a competitive edge with the technology won't last forever. Genpact identified a two-year window of time for organizations to capitalize on the advantages of AI.
Plus, workers are bringing AI tools to work even before companies craft policies and approval procedures. The rise of shadow AI can exacerbate security and ethics-related challenges.
The pivotal moment demands boardroom attention, according to the Deloitte report.
“It’s vital for organizations to govern at scale, which means challenging boardroom orthodoxies while implementing balanced processes to ensure the board’s time is spent on the most significant and strategic topics,” Abrash said.
