88% believe stronger regulation of AI is essential, but 61% say it won’t solve all the risks.
Just 2 in 10 organisations have an AI policy in place.
Only 1 in 10 report having large scale implementations of AI.
AI, In-Office Mandates and unlocking ROI are top concerns from the world’s largest and longest running annual survey of technology leadership.
With AI a top focus area for businesses, governments and regulators alike, a global study of tech leaders (CIOs, CTOs, etc.) has found that only 15% are prepared for the demands of generative AI. An overwhelming majority (88%) believe heavier AI regulation is essential, but the scale of the challenge is clear, with 61% believing tighter regulation won’t solve all the issues and risks that come with this rapidly developing technology.
These findings are revealed today in the 25th annual Nash Squared Digital Leadership Report, the world’s largest and longest-running annual survey of technology leadership[1]. Over the last 25 years, the research has taken in the views of over 50,000 technology leaders.
Before international governments meet this week at Bletchley Park in the UK for the world’s first AI Safety Summit, other key AI[2] findings globally include:
AI still at the experimentation stage globally. Despite the explosive predicted market growth of AI, only 1 in 10 technology leaders globally report having large scale implementations of AI, a figure that hasn’t changed in five years.
But the AI ripples are beginning to widen. Half of global organisations (49%) are either piloting or conducting a small scale implementation of AI. When it comes to generative AI, this figure is currently around a third.
Few have an AI policy in place. Just 2 in 10 (21%) of global organisations have an AI policy in place, and more than a third (36%) have no plans to attempt such a policy at this time.
Data privacy - a key concern for implementing generative AI. More than a third (36%) of technology leaders globally are concerned about data privacy as an issue for implementing generative AI.
A tsunami of AI driven cyberattacks around the corner? Although cyberattacks are down year-on-year, the report warns that generative AI has the potential to take cybercrime to a whole new, very dark, level, as new forms of attacks emerge.
Benefits of AI outweigh the risks. However, unregulated wild west or not - more than seven in ten technology leaders globally think that the benefits of AI outweigh the risks.
Jobs lost. The average percentage of jobs that technology leaders feel will be lost to automation is 17%.
Bev White, CEO of Nash Squared said: “Over the years there has been much hype about the potential for AI, but this year our research suggests we may have reached a tipping point. AI sits at the intersection of people and technology, and with the recent mass adoption of generative AI, the opportunities and challenges for organisations is potentially vast. It could be the trigger that prompts an avalanche of AI investment –similar to the mass adoption of cloud over the last ten years. This just makes the regulation and governance of AI more important than ever.
"Despite their keenness, many tech leaders admit that they don’t have a clear picture of the way forward and feel unprepared for the challenges ahead. Establishing clear guardrails, guidelines and ethical safety nets around AI is simply essential. Otherwise, what could be one of the truly transformational enablers of the modern age could instead become one of its biggest, risk-laden destabilisers.”
Tech Leaders Plan for Cautious Investment
Technology spends. After the hyper growth during and coming out of the pandemic, expectations of technology spend and investment in people have returned to more ‘normal’ levels, with tech leaders still optimistic about 2024 growth. Almost half (45%) expect their overall IT/technology budget to increase during the next 12 months – a figure broadly in line with pre-pandemic years.
Increase in headcount. A similar number of technology leaders globally (50%) expect to increase their headcount. This figure is the second highest reading in the last decade outside of the pandemic peak, although a significant fall on last year.
Innovative tech investment largely stalls. One casualty of the pandemic that still seems to remain, is that investment in emerging tech is being held back with the exception of pilots in AI, quantum and the metaverse.
Inclusion and Hybrid Working
Full week in-office mandates hits number of women being hired in tech. The report found that a high number of mandated days in the office appears to have had a negative impact on the proportion of female new hires in the tech team over the last two years. For companies without mandated in-office days, 28% of the tech team hired recently is female. This number drops to 22% at companies with a mandated 5 days in the office.
In-office mandates work better for smaller organisations. A high majority (84%) of small organisations globally report that their in-office policy is working well compared to 66% of large organisations. Twice as many large organisations (34%) to small organisations (16%) report that their policy is working poorly.
No movement in the number of female tech leaders. This year14% of technology leaders globally identify as female, identical to last year. This is a disappointing stagnation in what has been a painfully slow and shallow upward trend in recent years.
Female members of the tech team. Globally female representation on tech teams remained at 23%, year-on-year, with the US doing marginally better (27%) and UK businesses the same as the global average at 23%.
Tech Talent Shortage
Mass skills shortages ease slightly. This year 54% of technology leaders globally say that a skills shortage is preventing them from keeping up with the pace of change, down from the record 70% last year as technology demand and skills supply move a little more in balance.
Skills in demand. However, although scarcity of top skills for every type of technology professional has fallen year-on-year, there still remains a shortage with the most scarce skills being data engineers, enterprise architects, software engineers and technical architects.
Demand for cyber skills sees largest fall. In recent years cybersecurity skills have occupied the top three most scarce skills, but this year has seen one of the largest falls in demand globally (down 37%) as technology leaders focus their limited budgets on completing their transformation and revenue generation ambitions rather than shoring up security.
Potential impact of AI-driven cyberattacks on skills. Despite this drop, a quarter of technology leaders globally still struggle to find the right cybersecurity skills. The report also suggests that, if AI begins to generate new levels of cyber risk, cyber specialists may once again top the league table of skills in demand.
Technology/Digital Leaders on the Board
New tech drives need for technology/digital leaders to be on the top table. Over two thirds (68%) of technology leaders globally are members of the operational board/executive management team, the highest level since 2017 (71%). Over the last five years there have been signs of a decline in executive committee membership, but the report says that this is now on the rise due to the proliferation of new technologies like generative AI, where technology leaders can offer a unique and valuable perspective to the top table.
A seat on the executive committee also helps outperform the competition. When technology leaders are given a seat at the top table this delivers advantages over the competition, including a 20% uplift in adopting new technology, and a 24% advantage in attracting and retaining talent.
Bev White, CEO of Nash Squared, concluded:
“After the once-in-a-generation spike in investment in technology that we saw due to the pandemic, things have settled down to more like normal now. But this ‘normal’ remains substantial and significant, as digital technologies are central to how the modern business operates. That’s why, as our report shows, having a technology specialist like the CIO on the executive committee delivers measurable benefits.
"However, for any business to perform at its best, the working model needs to be right. There is a fascinating and very much live debate going on at the moment as to what kind of in-office mandate businesses should adopt. There is no single answer here, of course – it will vary for each individual business. However, our research shows that there are clear risks to the diversity agenda in pushing too far in the back-to-office direction. This needs to be very carefully monitored and managed if we want to ensure that technology drives up its levels of talented women.”
About the Report
In its 25th year of publication, the 2023 Nash Squared Digital Leadership Report is the world’s largest and longest running survey of senior technology decision makers. Launched in 1998 and previously called the CIO Survey, it has been an influential and respected indicator of major trends in technology and digital for over two decades. This year a survey of 2,104 technology/digital leaders globally took place between 22nd June 2023 and 18th September 2023, across 86 countries.
