Artificial Intelligence ‘Number One Investment Priority’ for 56 Percent of Australian CEO’s

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and a robot miniature are seen in an illustration image on June 23, 2023. Dado Ruvic/Reuters

Australian chief executives are not as confident about artificial intelligence (AI) as their global counterparts.

More than two thirds of CEOs globally view generative AI as the number one investment priority.

However, among Australian CEOs, 56 percent rate AI as a top priority compared to 70 percent internationally.

Higher profit and “job creation” are seen as the two major benefits of generative AI among the Australian leaders.

Generative AI refers to artificial technology that can produce content such as text, images, audio and data.

KPMG Australia CEO Andrew Yates noted business leaders don’t see AI as a threat to workers.

“I am not surprised to see generative AI at the top of the investment priorities for CEOs, given its vast potential to transform business processes, but I am encouraged to see that business leaders do not view it as a threat to their employees, but on the contrary as a driver of job creation,” Mr. Yates said.

“Companies in many sectors are looking to establish a Responsible AI framework to help them deal with the ethical challenges around the use of AI whilst also taking advantage of the technology advances.

“It is encouraging to see business leaders both here and overseas more confident than last year, when we were still emerging fully from the pandemic. There is clearly some concern about inflation and interest rates dampening prospects but overall, the figures are positive.”

Ethical Challenges?

Two thirds of the Australian CEOs raised concerns with ethical challenges of using AI.

In addition, 62 percent raised concerns about lack of regulation, 52 percent mentioned the cost and 45 percent were worried about adoption among employees.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot miniature on June 23, 2023. Dado Ruvic/Reuters

“Around two-thirds of Australian leaders said the level of regulation for AI should mirror climate commitments,” KPMG stated.

Globally, the survey found 52 percent of leaders believe they will see a return on investment in generative AI in the next three to five years.

“Generative AI is an increasingly hot topic in boardrooms, with leaders looking to better understand its potential and how to implement this technology in their business strategies,” KPMG International chief digital officer Lisa Heneghan said.

“The challenge is spending the money in the right places and having the right skills to fully exploit the opportunities it presents.”

The 9th KPMG CEO outlook involved a survey of 1,325 CEOs, with 50 of these global leaders coming from Australia.

Each of the business leaders were responsible for companies with an annual revenue of more than $500 million.

What About Employees?

Global CEOs may be keen to implement AI, but some Aussie employees have opened up about their fears the technology could take away their jobs.

Nearly four in ten Australian employees are concerned that AI could cause job losses, a recent GetApp survey showed.

The online interview of 463 employees in June found 41 percent of Australian employees are worried that generative AI could take away their job.

And 55 percent of ChatGPT users believe the technology improves workflow, while 44 percent said the application saves time.

ChatGPT, created by San Francisco based OpenAI, was introduced to the world in Nov. 30, 2022.

The chatbot is able to respond to prompts and questions with written content including social media posts, emails, code and news articles.