FROM THE FRONTIER
Companies are having a hard time explaining the upsides of AI — so why are they still talking about it?
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Corporate America has a favorite new topic. Mentions of AI on company earnings calls have surged dramatically, with 374 of the S&P 500 companies discussing the technology in earnings calls over the past 12 months. But there’s a problem: Most companies can’t seem to put their finger on how exactly AI is changing their businesses for the better.
An analysis of corporate filings reveals a glaring disconnect: While 87% of earnings calls are wholly positive about AI, company filings tell a different story. Over half of S&P 500 companies cite cybersecurity as a major AI risk. Others worry their AI efforts may simply fail, with recent MIT research finding that 95% of AI workplace pilots fail because current tools can’t integrate with existing company systems.
Copyright is also a major issue. Meta, which has spent billions building a “superintelligence” team, has warned it could face large legal settlements over using copyrighted materials to train its models. PepsiCo followed suit, flagging similar copyright concerns about unauthorized use of third-party content.
So why are companies still talking about AI? As Gartner analyst Haritha Khandabattu puts it, companies aren’t guided by strategy but by “FOMO” (fear of missing out). They feel pressured into having an AI strategy, with some even seeing stock prices rise just by announcing AI initiatives. In this climate, talking about AI is becoming table stakes. Backing it up with tangible results, however, is a different story.
via Superhuman