Information technology consulting company Infosys has conducted a survey of 1600 senior business decision makers across seven markets, polling them on their implementation and views on artificial intelligence (AI). The company found that while Australia’s big firms spent $8 million on AI last year (second only to the US), Australia ranks the lowest in AI maturity.
According to Infosys, an organisation’s AI maturity is determined by a number of factors: deployment of AI technologies, AI-related skill levels, and the organisation’s view of AI as part of its future strategy. Infotech has observed that there is a clear link between AI maturity and revenue growth; organisations who reported faster growth in revenue over the past three years were
The results of the survey are as follows:
In regard to the maturity groups, they are defined as such:
Sceptics (12 per cent)
- No current AI deployment
- Lacking AI related skills
- Do not see a strong link between AI deployment and future strategy success
Watchers (21 per cent)
- Early stages of use
- AI related skills remain low
- Link between AI deployment and strategy success is more recognised
Explorers (38 per cent)
- AI related skills on the increase
- More initiatives planned for AI in the coming 12 months
Rising stars (21 per cent)
- Greater level of AI related skills
- Increasing number of supporting activities for AI
- AI is seen as key to strategic success
Visionaries (9 per cent)
- AI deployed successfully throughout the organisation
- AI related skill levels are high
- Greater number of AI technologies deployed
- AI is a central tenet in the success of the future strategy
Australian firms rank low in maturity (despite high investment in AI technology), which can be seen in its ranking amongst the seven other countries examined.
Infosys also looked into AI maturity in different industries, and found it to be highest in pharmaceuticals/life sciences, followed by automotive and aerospace and telecoms.
According to the company, the greatest barriers to AI adoption are employees’ fear of change and lack of skills to implement and manage AI.
Indeed, 43 per cent of employees are concerned about data safety, while 28 per cent believe AI’s impact will go beyond concerns about the day-to-day job and will have an impact on employees’ human dignity, such as their sense of self-worth.
In regard to the skills required to implement and manage AI in the organisation, decision-makers believe active learning (58 per cent), complex problem solving (53 per cent) and critical thinking (46 per cent) to be key. Respondents also believe that future education is vital, with the most important academic subjects being computer sciences (72 per cent), business and management (47 per cent), and mathematics (45 per cent).