A recent Gartner survey shows a 270% growth in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption within the enterprise over the previous four years. While that’s impressive growth, it could be much higher. In fact, Gartner also states in this same survey that only 37% of organizations “have implemented AI in some form.” Considering how much hype AI is getting these days, you’d honestly think this number would be far higher. What’s more, I’d bet the type of AI being implemented in many of these organizations is largely superficial. I’d also venture to bet that if you’re reading this article — and take an honest look at your enterprise technology — you can’t point to any meaningful AI, either. Why is that?
Most CIO’s will opine that it’s not the fault of the IT department, or the business in general. Instead, the fault lies in the fact that there is a serious talent shortage in the areas of artificial intelligence, digital transformation and data sciences. While this is indeed a part of the problem, it doesn’t get to the heart of the issue.