7 Of 10 Indian CEOs Say Trusted AI Is Impossible Without Effective Governance: IBM Study
75% Indian CEOs also said governance for generative AI must be established as solutions.
Indian CEOs place a high importance on governance of artificial intelligence, with 71% saying trusted AI is impossible without effective AI governance in organisations, according to a new study by the IBM Institute for Business Value. Substantiating it further, 75% Indian CEOs said governance for generative AI must be established as solutions are designed, rather than after they are deployed.
The study showed that Indian CEOs are facing workforce, culture and governance challenges as they act quickly to implement and scale generative AI across their organisations. Only 42% of Indian CEOs said they have good generative AI governance in place today. This may be because people in the organisation aren’t sure of exactly what they’re being asked to do.
In the survey, 75% of Indian CEOs responded that inspiring their team with a common vision produces better outcomes than providing precise standards and targets. Yet 31% acknowledged that their employees don’t fully understand how strategic decisions impact them.
“As Indian CEOs navigate AI-led transformations within their organisations, they recognise the need for AI guardrails so that they derive real business value responsibly for growth and competitive success. However, our study reveals a gap between their intention and actual implementation. This scenario highlights the complexity of implementing AI governance," said Sandip Patel, managing director, IBM India and South Asia.
Other key study findings include:
People And Skills At The Core Of Successful Generative AI Adoption
Of the Indian CEOs surveyed, 71% said that succeeding with AI will depend more on people’s adoption than the technology itself. Around 49% of Indian respondents said they are hiring for generative AI roles that didn’t exist last year. Indian CEOs indicated 34% of their workforce will require retraining and reskilling over the next three years, up from just 6% globally in 2021.
Organisational Collaboration And Adoption Challenges
About 70% of Indian CEOs admitted their organisation's success is tied to the quality of collaboration between finance and technology, yet 48% said competition among C-suite executives impedes collaboration. Nearly half (48%) of Indian respondents acknowledged that cultural change is more important to becoming a data-driven organisation than overcoming technical challenges.
Additionally, 58% of Indian CEOs acknowledged they are pushing their organisation to adopt generative AI more quickly than some people are comfortable with.
Regulatory Constraints Top Barrier To Innovation
Indian CEOs ranked customer experience and product and service innovation as their highest priorities for the next three years, and 59% said they are willing to sacrifice operational efficiency for greater innovation. However, 48% pointed to regulatory constraints as their top barrier to innovation.
Additionally, only 32% of Indian CEOs are primarily funding their generative AI investments with net new IT spend, with the remaining 68% reducing other technology spend.
