In a recent report, The Art of AI Maturity, Accenture identified a small group (12%) of high-performing organizations that are using AI to generate 50% more revenue growth while outperforming on customer experience (CX) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) metrics. Among other success factors that have a combinatorial impact on business results, these Achievers are, on average, 53% more likely than others to be responsible by design. That means that they apply a responsible data and AI approach across the complete lifecycle of all their models, helping them engender trust and scale AI with confidence.
Being responsible by design will become more beneficial over time, especially as governments and regulators consider new standards for the development and use of AI. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Brazil, and China are already taking action, either by evolving existing requirements related to AI (for example, in regulation such as GDPR), or through the development of new regulatory policy.
We surveyed 850 C-suite executives across 17 geographies and 20 industries to understand organizations’ attitudes toward AI regulation and assess their readiness to embrace it. Here’s what we learned.
The role of regulation
Our research shows that awareness of AI regulation is generally widespread and that organizations are well-informed.
- Nearly all (97%) respondents believe that regulation will impact them to some extent
- 95% believe that at least part of their business will be affected by the proposed EU regulations specifically
Interestingly, many organizations see regulatory compliance as an unexpected source of competitive advantage. The ability to deliver high quality, trustworthy AI systems that are regulation-ready will give first movers a significant advantage in the short-term, enabling them to attract new customers, retain existing ones and build investor confidence.
- 43% think it will improve their ability to industrialize and scale AI
- 36% believe it will create opportunities for competitive advantage/differentiation
- 41% believe it can help attract/retain talent
Our research also reveals that organizations are prioritizing AI compliance and want to invest. Coupled with the opinion that Responsible AI can fuel business performance, it’s unsurprising that majority of respondents plan to increase investment in Responsible AI.
- 77% indicated that future regulation of AI is a current company-wide priority
- More than 80% say that they’ll commit 10% or more of their total AI budget to meeting regulatory requirements by 2024
Responsible AI readiness
However, most organizations have yet to turn these favorable attitudes and intentions into action.
- Alarmingly, we found that only 6% of organizations have built their Responsible AI foundation and put their principles into practice. Organizations in this category are prepared to accommodate near-term and ongoing regulatory changes. Because they’re responsible by design, these companies can move past compliance and focus on competitive advantage.
- A majority of respondents (69%) have some dimensions in place but haven’t operationalized a robust Responsible AI foundation. This group understands the value of Responsible AI, but they have yet to embed it across their entire organization.
- Finally, 25% of respondents have yet to establish any meaningful Responsible AI capabilities. This group will have the most work to do to prepare their organizations for regulatory change.
While most companies have begun their Responsible AI journey, the majority (94%) are struggling to operationalize across all key elements of Responsible AI.
By Ray-Eitel Porter & Ulf Grosskopf
Read the full article at https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/artificial-intelligence/ai-compliance-competitive-advantage.
