Dive Temporary:
- Chief AI officers grew to become a extra frequent C-suite addition this yr, in accordance with a report Altrata revealed Thursday.
- Whereas nonetheless not the norm, the variety of AI chiefs elevated by 70% yr over yr throughout organizations, from 30 in 2023 to 51 this yr, the evaluation of 35,000 private and non-private corporations within the U.S. discovered.
- Most corporations leaned on inner hires to fill the position. Others tapped tech sector executives from Google, IBM, Oracle and Accenture to convey AI management into the C-suite, Altrata mentioned.
Dive Perception:
As enterprises embark on widescale AI initiatives, some are contemplating a brand new position to information technique, adoption and implementation plans.
The previous yr was peppered with appointments that spanned industries. Biopharma giants Eli Lilly and Pfizer added AI executives in October and August, respectively. Skilled providers agency PwC US elevated cloud govt Dan Priest to the position in July as a part of a broader AI push, and the aerospace sector noticed Boeing appoint an AI chief in March.
Whereas novel and not always necessary, the position is anticipated to grow in importance as corporations align C-suite tech roles with enterprise technique. Chief AI officers sign to markets and inner workers that the expertise will stay a sustained focus relatively than a fad.
AI chiefs may also take level in guiding investments within the expertise and widening the scope of initiatives.
“We’re nonetheless plucking low-hanging fruit on plenty of AI initiatives,” PwC US Chief AI Officer Dan Priest mentioned throughout a CIO Dive live event in August. “The prices aren’t insignificant, however the payback and the tempo of returns has been fairly good thus far.”
Since Priest’s appointment, the skilled providers agency has rolled out a number of AI instruments and tasks. Earlier this month, the corporate mentioned it’s increasing its partnership with AWS to speed up the development of industry-tailored AI tools.
AI management can are available different types. Along with including a chief AI officer, S&P Global created a council of enterprise and expertise representatives to discover accountable observe and use circumstances. Many different organizations place AI governance within the palms of CIOs and CTOs, in accordance with Gartner analysis.
One-third of AI chiefs are employed by publicly traded corporations and almost two-thirds by non-public enterprises, Altrata’s analysis discovered. Solely 3% labored within the public sector.
