Corporate executives divided on AI responsibility and innovation priorities
NTT Data's latest report reveals that 2,300 global corporate executives are divided on the priorities of AI innovation and responsibility, with nearly one-third prioritizing innovation, another nearly one-third valuing safety, and the rest balancing both. Despite the clear divide, three-fifths of executives acknowledge a significant gap between innovation and responsibility. The report also notes that unclear government regulation is a major factor hindering corporate AI investment.
News Summary
- As enterprise AI adoption advances, C-suite leaders are divided on whether to prioritize innovation, responsibility, or a balanced strategy. IT services firm NTT Data released a report on Wednesday surveying 2,300 C-suite leaders and decision-makers globally.
- Nearly one-third of surveyed leaders said they prioritize innovation over responsibility, while a similar proportion believe safety should come first. The remaining group places equal weight on responsibility and innovation.
- Despite differing approaches, three-fifths of leaders believe there is a significant gap between innovation and responsibility—including safety, sustainability, ethics, and inclusive models—in AI deployment.
Deep Insights
As boardroom leaders disagree on how to steer their organizations toward AI adoption, similar rifts are emerging on the global political stage.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, in a keynote address at the AI Action Summit in Paris on Tuesday, called for a more aggressive push toward AI deregulation. Vance said, "The United States wants to work with you, but to build that trust, we need international regulatory frameworks that promote the creation of AI technology rather than stifle it. We especially hope our European friends will approach this new frontier with optimism." The Trump administration, through two executive orders issued in January, revoked several Biden-era AI regulatory measures.
However, Europe continues to adopt a stricter approach to AI regulation. The EU AI Act, which took effect last year, sets rules for how companies use the technology and how model developers should operate.
According to the NTT survey, most respondents believe that unclear government regulation undermines companies' ability to innovate. More than four-fifths of respondents said unclear government regulation of generative AI is hindering further investment.
As the Trump administration continues to adjust its technology regulatory approach, the future of the voluntary generative AI guardrails proposed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) remains in question. In 2024, NIST released a set of approximately 200 risk mitigation actions targeting common risks associated with generative AI, including information integrity, security, bias, and environmental impact.