Thomas Claburn wrote an article for The Register titled Payoff from AI Projects is Dismal, Biz Leaders Complain (12 June 2024).
« Between April and May 2024, Lucidworks conducted a survey of business leaders involved in AI adoption in North America, EMEA, and the APAC region. The respondents… were drawn from 1,000 companies with 100 or more employees across 14 industries, all of which are said to have active AI initiatives underway. »
« “Unfortunately, the financial benefits of implemented projects have been dismal,” the study says. »
« Another reason is growing concern about the cost of AI projects, up 14x since last year. There are also many more worries (5x more) about the accuracy of responses provided by AI systems… “The bottom line is that ensuring AI security, accurate AI responses, and responsible data acquisition all come with a price tag,” said Redman. »
« Among the organizations surveyed, the best generative AI initiatives involved governance (standardizing models to ensure alignment, limiting access to generative AI tools based on role, and so on) and cost reduction, both general and administrative (Q&A testing, debugging, code suggestion, and HR help documentation). »
« The survey indicates that qualitative applications, which use text and provide a narrow response, have been the most successful generative AI initiatives, accounting for about a quarter of successful implementations. Specifically, these include projects for generating FAQs and providing HR support. »
« Applications with a quantitative component – using generative AI to monitor, predict, analyze, optimize, prioritize, and other more challenging projects – have had a rougher time »
« Redman said code generation’s popularity as a top use case makes a lot of sense. “It’s essentially a prime example of how AI copilots can empower knowledge workers,” he explained. “These copilots have proven to be valuable across various creative tasks, whether it’s writing code, drafting documents, or beyond. The beauty lies in their collaborative nature – they offer suggestions and support, but the final decision and responsibility for the output rests firmly with the human user.” »
« And Redman said it’s also not surprising that AI governance has been a common key initiative. “In the face of powerful generative AI capabilities, organizations are naturally prioritizing risk management,” he said. “Understanding and mitigating the risks associated with each AI application is paramount, especially considering the growing regulatory landscape, like the EU AI Act. These regulations emphasize transparency and user control, ensuring individuals understand how their data is used and have choices in their interactions with AI systems.” »
Articles of Interest 