Businesses Are Turning To Generative AI

Businesses are excited about the potential of generative AI and its application in business, according to a new report by technology and consulting firm Capgemini.

Titled: “Harnessing the value of generative AI”, the report looks at the attitudes of executives to generative AI and top use cases across industries for generative AI.

Defined as “a technology with the capability to learn and reapply the properties and patterns of data for a wide range of applications”, the report noted that enterprises are turning to it to create tailored content in the form of text, images, and videos.

Talk of the town… and the boardroom

According to the report, generative AI is a top agenda item in boardrooms. Nearly all executives (96%) in the survey cited generative AI as a hot topic of discussion in their respective boardrooms, making it probably the fastest new technology to garner such high-level interest.

Indeed, over half (59%) of executives say their leadership are strong advocates for generative AI only six months after the technology hit the mainstream. This rises to a startling 84% in the high-tech sector, with just a third (39%) of executives saying their leaders are taking a “wait-and-watch” approach.

Interestingly, two in three (67%) of executives disagree that generative AI is a disruptor to their respective industries or business models. However, a larger percentage of executives within the high-tech (52%) and industrial manufacturing (48%) sectors say they expect significant disruption.

Harnessing generative AI

So how are organizations harnessing generative AI? In an example cited by Capgemini, Morgan Stanley is using GPT-4 to power an internal chatbot that provides instant access to its vast library of investment strategies, market research, and analyst insights, making it trivial for wealth-management advisors to access.

“Think of it as having our chief investment strategist, chief global economist, global equities strategist, and every other analyst around the globe on call for every advisor, every day. We believe that is a transformative capability for our company,” said Jeff McMillan, head of Analytics, Data, and innovation at Morgan Stanley.

For now, four in 10 organizations have already established teams and budget for generative AI. “Our research reveals that 40% of organizations have established dedicated teams and budgets for generative AI, while another half (49%) are contemplating doing the same within 12 months."

The road ahead

For businesses that have a dedicated budget for generative AI initiatives, 78% say they source it from their central budget, 16% from their overall AI budget, and 6% from their IT/digital department.

The road is not completely smooth – some organizations are hitting roadblocks. This includes insufficient clarity on the underlying data of pre-trained models, possible biases, and a lack of inclusivity. Other challenges include AI hallucinations and the potential for data leakage, including with custom-built internal models, says the report.

Moreover, the integration of generative AI into the workforce will require a significant investment in upskilling and cross-skilling of talent on some levels. The environmental aspect of generative AI is another consideration.

While executives are aware of the carbon-intensive nature of generative AI and understand the need to mitigate its adverse impact on the environment, the net impact of generative AI on an organization’s Scope 1, 2, and/or 3 emissions is difficult to forecast right now.

Regardless, the market is already shifting to bring generative AI closer to business use cases – with as many as 70% of global organizations currently exploring generative AI.

The Capgemini study took place in April 2023 and was derived from a global online survey of participants from 1,000 organizations, including in-depth interviews with 10 industry executives. Organizations were based in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and the US.

Paul Mah is the editor of DSAITrends. A former system administrator, programmer, and IT lecturer, he enjoys writing both code and prose. You can reach him at [email protected].​

Image credit: iStockphoto/Supatman