According to a report by MIT Technology Review Insights, visionary Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are embracing innovative generative AI tools in their comprehensive AI strategies.
The report, “The great acceleration: CIO perspectives on generative AI,” was co-created with Databricks and draws insights from extensive interviews with top executives and experts from organizations such as DuPont Water & Protection, MIT, MosaicML, Shell, Cosmo Energy Holdings, the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Adobe, and University of California, Berkeley.
The research also includes findings from a global survey by MIT Technology Review Insights of 600 senior data and technology executives. The survey revealed that for 78% of these executives, successful AI scaling was a prime concern.
“Generative AI is causing upheavals across all industries, and CIOs understand that leveraging AI is no longer an option but a necessity to stay competitive,” stated Matei Zaharia, Co-Founder and CTO at Databricks, and Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley. “In response, we anticipate data-centric companies will expand and monetize models using their own data, integrating them into customized applications relevant to their business.”
Is This the Dawn of Enterprise-Wide AI?
As per the report, Generative AI and large language models (LLMs) are democratizing AI access, potentially initiating the era of truly enterprise-wide AI. Today, fueled by the potential of newly emerging use cases, AI is transitioning from pilot projects to a widespread capability integrated into the core of organizational workflows. Consequently, technology teams no longer need to “sell” AI to business units.
“I can’t think of anything that’s been more powerful since the desktop computer,” said Michael Carbin, Associate Professor, at MIT, and Founding Advisor at MosaicML, explaining the ability to translate language into a machine-understandable form.
Organizations are also attempting to utilize open-source technology to develop their own LLMs, capitalizing on and safeguarding their own data and IP, as discovered by MIT researchers. CIOs see promising opportunities in developing customized LLMs and extracting value from smaller models. The most successful organizations will find the right strategic balance based on a meticulous evaluation of risk, comparative advantage, and governance.
AI Expected to Transform Workforce, Not Pose Data Threats
The report suggests that while concerns about automation should not be overlooked, fears about a dystopian future are exaggerated. Generative AI tools can already handle complex and diverse workloads; however, the CIOs and academics interviewed do not foresee major automation threats. Instead, they believe the wider workforce will be freed from time-consuming tasks to concentrate on areas of higher value like insight, strategy, and business value.
Cynthia Stoddard, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer at Adobe, shared, “We internally view AI/ML as being a helper, truly helping our people, and then allowing them to spend more time on other value-added activities.”
