Newswise — Despite the robust capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI), it is still in its infancy. As governments develop strategies to regulate AI, it is up to U.S. businesses to successfully adapt to AI policies as they emerge, a research professor says. Kislaya Prasad at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.
As the school’s academic director Center for Global AffairsPrasad surveyed 885 U.S. business executives and middle managers at for-profit companies. Published under the title “AI Use and Regulation: A Survey of U.S. Business Leaders”, the results shed light on the sentiments of leaders, revealing both concerns and support surrounding AI adoption and governance.
The report begins with five key takeaways:
- There is considerable concern about job losses, particularly in the financial services, insurance and telecommunications sectors.
- Strong support is evident for AI regulation, including transparency mandates on AI use, explanation of autonomous decisions, and submission to third-party audits to detect bias in algorithms.
- There is strong support for restrictions on the export of key AI technologies.
- “Powering chatbots” and “coding” are identified as the most important uses of generative AI, which was already widely used across industries as of November 2023.
- While “improving customer experience” and “improving operations” are key drivers of AI adoption, the top reasons for non-adoption are “lack of a clear use case or perceived need” and “limited technical expertise of resources.”
Respondents were selected primarily based on their ability to provide diverse responses and perspectives on AI implementation across industries. Respondents came from eight industries that represent about half of the U.S. private sector workforce: financial services and insurance, healthcare and biotechnology, hospitality and leisure, information technology, manufacturing, retail, telecommunications, and transportation. A ninth category, “Other,” was added to represent individuals outside the eight major industries.
Collectively, nearly 58% of respondents said their companies had integrated AI into their business practices in some way, 35% said no, while the remaining 7% said they were unsure about the level of AI integration in their business.
The report also addresses job displacement, the level of support for AI regulation and export restrictions, sentiments on the patentability of AI-assisted creations and intellectual property infringement, AI use by sector, and drivers and barriers associated with AI adoption.
Learn more about the key takeaways
Concerns about job cuts are weighing heavily on executives. When it comes to the potential negative impacts of AI on career prospects over the next five years, about 20% of respondents said they were very or extremely concerned. These concerns were echoed by 47% of respondents in the financial services and insurance sector, and 32% of respondents in the telecommunications sector. Additionally, 27.5% of respondents with less than 15 years of work experience and 26% of respondents who identify as AI decision-makers in their respective companies share this concern. While the concern is noticeable among those directly involved with AI in their work, “it is unclear whether this comes from a more intimate knowledge of AI’s possibilities or from being in more vulnerable positions,” Prasad writes.
There is strong support for regulating AI. The Biden administration’s 2023 executive order on AI aimed to set new standards for AI safety and security, create privacy safeguards, and promote business innovation and competition. Over the past five years, 17 states have passed 29 AI regulatory bills promoting similar principles. As for the level of executive support for regulating AI-based systems, respondents were asked about three types of mandates: transparency about AI use and data collection, explainability of autonomous decisions by AI algorithms, and third-party auditing of algorithmic bias in AI algorithms. About 75% of respondents said they strongly or somewhat supported regulation requiring transparency, with regulation of algorithmic bias viewed similarly. About 72% of respondents strongly or somewhat supported regulation of explainability.
Strong support for restrictions on the export of key AI technologies. In addition to the 2023 AI executive order, the U.S. Department of Commerce has tightened export controls on AI technologies, targeting sales of advanced chips and chipmaking equipment to China. According to Secretary Gina Raimondo, the goal was to limit “China’s access to advanced semiconductors that could fuel breakthroughs in artificial intelligence.” Support for these policies was evident among survey respondents, with nearly 60% strongly or somewhat supporting restrictions. Companies with 10% or more of international sales support restrictions on exports of AI technologies. Manufacturing leads all sectors by a considerable margin, with 70% of its respondents strongly or somewhat supporting restrictions on exports of advanced AI technologies. Older respondents, those concerned about AI-related job losses, and those with high trust in government are also more likely to support export restrictions.
Generative AI is at the forefront of AI adoption within businesses. When asked about the AI technologies their companies are implementing, 39% said generative AI was being used, followed by computer vision (30%) and machine learning (27%). Companies with a significant global presence were found to be the most intensive in generative AI tasks. Among respondents from these companies, 33% said they were using generative AI for chatbots, while 32% used it for marketing purposes and 30% for text generation. When it comes to decision-making tasks that currently use an autonomous decision system, respondents regularly cited inventory management, logistics, personalization, and recruiting.
Improving customer experience and operational efficiency is at the heart of AI adoption. Drivers and barriers were broadly similar across industries. However, for companies that are using AI, these two factors emerged in 66% and 72% of responses, respectively. Barriers cited by more than 35% of companies that have adopted AI technologies included high upfront costs, difficulty recruiting skilled professionals, and the challenge of integrating AI into existing IT infrastructure. For companies that have not adopted AI technology, the two most cited reasons were the lack of a clear use case or perceived need for the technology and limited technical expertise or resources to implement and manage the technology.
“There is a great deal of similarity in the patterns of AI use across sectors, although the levels vary considerably. Information technology, telecommunications, financial services and insurance, and manufacturing have much higher levels of AI use than, for example, retail and e-commerce,” Prasad says.
However, AI is used in the same way everywhere, he adds. “Also, sentiments towards AI and its regulation are similar across all sectors.”
Funding from the U.S. Department of Education through a Title VI grant under the CIBE program supported this research.
Learn more: AI Use and Regulation: A Survey of U.S. Business Leaders
