A new global study from the IBM Institute for Business Value has found that more than half (54%) of African CEOs surveyed identify customer experience as their top business priority and recognize productivity or profitability as key to achieving their goals business, ranking it as the second highest priority (46%). However, it is from advanced forms of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and analytics such as cloud computing, automation, generative AI, deep learning, machine learning, advanced analytics and more that African CEOs expect to realize significant value. Nonetheless, the annual study, titled “CEO decision-making in the age of AI, Act with intention,” found that companies on the continent continue to face key barriers as they race to modernize and adopt new technologies, barriers mostly caused by external factors. influential.
“The fourth industrial revolution presented Africa with the opportunity to skip various stages of economic development. As a result, African organizations are leveraging generative AI and emerging innovation models to accelerate innovation, improve customer experiences, productivity and profitability, and environmental sustainability, to name a few,” said Julia Carvalho, General Manager of IBM Africa Growth Markets. “However – he added – it is essential that CEOs in Africa establish and implement clear and consistent standards as they pertain to the use of AI in all areas of strategic interest, as it will determine the level of investment and, ultimately, the success of an organization in a rapidly changing digital economy”.
In the study, over half (53%) of African CEOs identify technology factors as the most impactful force that could significantly impact their AI adoption paths. Additionally, the region’s CEOs cite market factors (51%), regulatory factors (49%) and workforce and skills (33%) as the top external factors that are having the most significant impact on their organizations.
The study also found that more than half (57%) of the CEOs surveyed say they are concerned about data security and 48% about data bias or accuracy, barriers that could slow down the adoption of generative AI. African CEOs face a variety of data challenges, with nearly half of respondents citing unclear data computation and reporting between suppliers and partners (48%) and within their organizations (47%) as the risks o the most critical obstacles. [Da Redazione InfoAfrica]
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