PwC's global chairman warned that many corporate leaders are rushing into artificial intelligence (AI) without the foundational systems needed to make it work, leaving more than half of companies seeing no real benefit.
AI Adoption Soars, But Returns Lag
On Monday, Mohamed Kande, PwC's global chairman, spoke to Fortune in Davos ahead of the World Economic Forum, saying the CEO role has shifted dramatically in the past year.
"This is one of the most testing moments for leaders," Kande told Fortune‘s Diane Brady.
He described a new "tri-modal" mandate that requires executives to run today's business, transform it in real time, and build new models for the future.
Survey Shows Majority Getting ‘Nothing’ From AI
The warning comes as PwC released its 29th global CEO survey, which found that while corporate leaders are aggressively adopting AI, the payoff is limited.
Only 10% to 12% of companies reported seeing benefits in revenue or costs, while 56% said they were getting "nothing out of it."
Kande attributed the gap to weak execution rather than flawed technology.
"Somehow AI moves so fast … that people forgot that the adoption of technology, you have to go to the basics," he said, emphasizing the need for clean data, strong processes and governance.
He added that companies seeing results are "putting the foundations in place."
AI Adoption Faces Trust And Scale Issues
Earlier this month, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) and Tata Consultancy Services announced a partnership to help companies move AI from pilot projects to full-scale production, focusing on hybrid cloud, edge computing, and industry-specific AI solutions.
The collaboration also aimed to train TCS employees on AMD technology.
Last year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned that AI was growing faster than the world could adapt and urged strong safeguards to prevent harm.
He acknowledged job disruption but said new roles would emerge.
Nvidia Corp.’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) Bryan Catanzaro said many people avoided AI because they didn't trust or understand it, and he positioned Nvidia's open-source Nemotron platform as a solution.
Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser predicted AI would eventually "eat itself" as the internet filled with AI-generated content and criticized executives pushing AI adoption as lacking humanity.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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