A recent Deloitte report found that over 75% of Australian business and technology leaders expect Generative AI to drive substantial transformation within their organisation and industry over the next three years, but half say a lack of technical talent and skills is holding them back.
The report, entitled ‘The State of Generative AI in the Enterprise: Now’ is based on a survey of more than 2,800 Director to C-suite level respondents across six industries and 16 countries (including Australia) exploring how actions taken now will guide Gen-AI adoption and whether its benefits are fully realised.
Commenting on the Australian facets of the report, report, Deloitte Australia CEO Adam Powick said: “Generative-AI is transformative technology and we’re already seeing significant opportunities for innovation and productivity improvement across many industry sectors.
“As business leaders, we need to find a balance between mitigating the risks of this technology and unlocking and empowering ideas for improving client service, quality and the way we work.
“Driving benefits at scale requires a clear strategy and governance model, access to the latest technology and expertise, and a focus on workforce education and reskilling as organisations try to keep pace with this rapidly evolving technology.”
Key findings from the report:
- 79% of Australian business and technology leaders expect Gen-AI to drive substantial transformation within their organisation and industry over the next three years;
- 49% said a lack of technical talent and skills is the biggest barrier to adoption, 14% higher than the global average;
- 72% listed excitement as the top sentiment when it comes to Gen-AI, 11% higher than the global average;
- 40% see intellectual property as the biggest concern when it comes to Gen-AI adoption;
- 57% said they’re sufficiently educating employees on the capabilities, benefits, and value of Gen AI, 10% higher than the global average;
- 21% said they’re “highly” or “very highly” prepared to address governance and risk issues
- 60% believe the rise of Gen-AI tools/applications will erode trust in national and global institutions, 11% higher than the global average; and
- 86% saw a need for more global regulation to manage the widespread adoption of Gen-AI, 8% higher than the global average.
Deloitte Australia AI Institute Leader, Kellie Nuttall said: “We will only see the full transformative potential of Gen-AI when it is applied at scale, with the right focus on the right value pools. To do this, organisations will need to move from use case experimentation to full integration across their businesses.
“Underpinning this will be the need for organisations to develop strong ethical and cultural practices around AI. This will be as important as AI utilisation itself.”