NEW YORK, Jan. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The adoption of
artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly growing in the workplace;
however, to take full advantage of AI's opportunities, businesses
must understand and overcome lingering doubts from their customers
and employees, according to research released today by
Genpact (NYSE: G), a global professional services firm focused
on delivering digital transformation.
This second edition of Genpact's research series, AI 360: insights from the next frontier of
business, analyzes perceptions of three
distinct audiences – senior executives, the employee base, and
consumers – that are critical to AI's widespread adoption in
business. The latest results show remarkable progress since the
inaugural 2017 study. For example, 53 percent of consumers say AI
is making their lives better, up from just a third in 2017. And
workers are more likely to say AI brings career opportunities (36
percent) than believe it threatens their jobs (28 percent). One of
the most important shifts is the nature of adoption, with companies
moving from using AI at the fringe of their operations in 2017 to
now starting to deploy it in their core processes, especially among
the visionaries (executives who say their companies are using AI to
fundamentally reimagine their business).
"The data reflects what we're seeing with clients. There's no
question that businesses are at an inflection point with their use
of AI. The visionaries are beginning to embed AI as the neural
wiring for their enterprises," said NV "Tiger" Tyagarajan,
president and chief executive officer, Genpact. "To achieve
greater impact, we must change the narrative about lingering
concerns. It is critical to educate both employees and customers
about AI's potential, and enable them with tools to take advantage
of its benefits."
The research finds several clear perception gaps among audiences
that reveal potential adoption barriers, but also provide
significant opportunity for those businesses that can read the
signals and act accordingly. Major findings include:
Performance now eclipses cost savings
With AI adoption
increasing, business outcomes are maturing. Senior executives
report more performance-related results like an increased ability
to leverage data, greater collaboration, and improved processes and
analytics. In 2017, the top benefit cited was cost savings, but in
the current study, two purely financial indicators – reduced costs
and increased revenues – stand at the bottom of a list of nine
potential benefits.
Comfort with robots rising, but management and workers'
expectations differ
Nearly two-thirds of workers say they
will be comfortable working with robots in three years, up from 40
percent in 2017. But senior executives expect more enthusiasm from
their employees: an overwhelming majority (86 percent) believe
workers will be comfortable with robots by the end of 2021.
Businesses must address this expectation gap when managing their
digital workforce.
Confronting AI bias a challenge for all; companies'
actions limited
Consumer doubts send a clear signal to
businesses—for those insightful enough to tune in. Among top
concerns are AI bias (78 percent of consumers say it is important
that companies take active measures to prevent it), and potential
discrimination when robots make decisions (cited by 67 percent).
While most businesses are addressing AI bias in some way, only a
third of senior executives say their companies have comprehensive
governance and internal control frameworks. Explainable AI and
transparency are key to allay consumers' fears.
"From the commercial credit management standpoint, if we can't
explain how the technology works, we're not touching it," said
Robert Pompey, senior vice
president, regional commercial credit management at TD Bank.
"It's critical that we understand the algorithms before we
implement them. We need a clear picture of how they operate. Then
we have to be able to communicate that information to our employees
to ensure they're being transparent with our customers too."
Privacy still a top concern, but consumers also more willing
to share data
Although privacy remains a key concern,
consumers are much less worried if they see benefits. More than
half (54 percent) are comfortable with letting companies use AI to
access personal data if it improves their customer experience,
jumping from only 30 percent in 2017.
Resistance shifting; disconnect remains between execs and
workers on reskilling
Interestingly, pushback on AI has
shifted from the corner office to the operations floor. Only 15
percent of senior executives say there is resistance from the top
(C-suite, board, or upper-management), plummeting from 51 percent
in 2017. At the same time, executives see more opposition from
entry-level workers, which jumped to 19 percent from only 5 percent
in 2017.
The good news is that an overwhelming majority of workers (80
percent) are willing to learn new skills to take advantage of AI.
Yet while more senior executives say their companies provide
reskilling opportunities (53 percent, up from 38 percent in 2017),
a disconnect remains with workers' experiences. Just over a third
of workers (35 percent) say their companies offer reskilling
options, and less than a quarter say they have participated in such
training.
For more information about what matters most with AI, and how
views have changed since 2017, see
AI 360: insights from the next frontier
of business.
About the Research
Genpact worked with Wakefield
Research for the current study, conducted between November 20 and December 3, 2018. The
survey of C-suite and senior executives included 500 executives in
the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan, and was conducted via an email
invitation and an online questionnaire. Respondents were from the
financial services, healthcare, life sciences, high tech, consumer
packaged goods, retail, and industrial manufacturing industries,
and worked at companies with at least $1
billion in annual revenue or at least $50 billion in annual revenue for financial
institutions. Wakefield Research also used an email invitation and
online survey to poll 4,000 adults in the
United States, United
Kingdom, Australia, and
Japan, of which 2,103 were working
at least eight hours a week. In 2017, Genpact conducted similar
research, working with research firm YouGov, to survey 5,179 people
in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Of the total survey population,
2,795 were employed at least eight hours per week. YouGov conducted
the fieldwork online between August 15-30,
2017. In a separate study conducted in June 2017, Genpact and Fortune Knowledge Group
surveyed 300 global senior executives. Respondents were from the
financial services, healthcare, life sciences, high tech, consumer
packaged goods, retail, and industrial manufacturing industries,
and worked at companies with at least $1
billion in annual revenue or at least $50 billion in annual revenue for financial
institutions.
About Genpact
Genpact (NYSE: G) is a global
professional services firm that makes business transformation real.
We drive digital-led innovation and digitally-enabled intelligent
operations for our clients, guided by our experience running
thousands of processes primarily for Global Fortune 500
companies. We think with design, dream in digital, and solve
problems with data and analytics. Combining our expertise in
end-to-end operations and our AI-based platform, Genpact Cora, we
focus on the details – all 87,000+ of us. From New York to
New Delhi and more than 25
countries in between, we connect every dot, reimagine every
process, and reinvent companies' ways of working. We know that
reimagining each step from start to finish creates better business
outcomes. Whatever it is, we'll be there with you – accelerating
digital transformation to create bold, lasting results – because
transformation happens here. Get to know us at Genpact.com and
on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.
For more
information:
Danielle
D'Angelo
Genpact Media
Relations - Global
danielle.dangelo@genpact.com
+1
914-336-7951
|
|
Siya
Belliappa
Genpact Media
Relations - India
siya.belliappa@genpact.com
+91
98231333
|
Laura
Brooks
For Genpact
U.K.
Laura.Brooks@hotpaperlantern.com
+44 207 680
7113
|
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ai-adoption-accelerating-yet-benefits-at-risk-unless-businesses-address-customer-and-employee-doubts-finds-genpact-research-300781334.html
SOURCE Genpact