- Investors have a moderately high level of optimism around AI
- They still have concerns about sustainability and staffing.
- Corporate leaders may need to listen more to investors
New research from Just Capital found that while a majority of corporate leaders (93%) and investors (80%) predict that AI will have a net positive effect on society over the next five years, enthusiasm among the general public (58%) is not as high.
Productivity, innovation, profitability and shareholder returns are some of the areas that business leaders and investors expect to see the greatest returns.
However, about half of the public still shares concern about job losses, even though only one in five corporate leaders agree.
The public is not as optimistic about AI as companies
Regardless of perception, all three groups of respondents agreed that AI safety is a top priority, but to varying degrees. The public fears all risks equally, including loss of control and the environmental impact of intensive computing, but business leaders are most concerned about misinformation and malicious use.
As such, the public is more likely to want governments to introduce broader regulation across all AI risk areas.
According to the data, investors are the most likely to believe that AI would have a negative impact on the environment. Currently, only 17% of corporate leaders consider sustainability in their AI implementations, and two-fifths (42%) exclude it entirely. Previous reports have indicated similar pressure from shareholders to focus on the environmental impacts of AI.
With technological changes underway, 90% of the public and 97% of investors agree that AI training for workers is now a critical requirement, but corporations may not always agree.
“Areas of underinvestment or gaps between investor, public and business expectations represent key opportunities for impact, leadership and competitive differentiation,” the researchers concluded.
The report’s data generally shows that investor expectations align more closely with those of the general public, and companies tend to underperform in terms of allocating enough investment to environmental, training and worker support budgets.
Looking ahead, then, internal and external pressures may lead companies to modify their AI strategies, and the companies most likely to excel will be those that respond to those pressures.
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