CEOs have bought the hype about AI, but CIOs and CDOs are moving forward with caution because they see a different reality on the ground.
More than half of all CEOs don鈥檛 have faith that their CIOs have enough AI expertise to meet their organizations鈥� short-term needs, raising serious questions about 娇色导航job security and enterprise ability to execute AI priorities.
Just 44% of CEOs believe their CIOs are savvy enough to guide their organizations to meet their organizations鈥� AI needs through 2026, according to in the second half of 2024. Just 40% of CEOs see their chief data officers as AI savvy, and fewer than 20% believe in the AI expertise of most other C-suite executives.
Another recent survey found that most CEOs believe AI can provide better business advice than members of their boards of directors or other company executives, raising questions about whether they have swallowed the AI hype.
It鈥檚 unclear, however, what factors are driving the doubt about 娇色导航and CDO expertise, says , an analyst at Gartner, but CEOs see AI as a transformational technology, not just another IT tool.
If the CEO concerns are justified, their organizations have real problems to fix, she says, because a lack of AI expertise in the C-suite can leave an enterprise with a huge competitive disadvantage.
鈥淲e find that technology and AI savviness augments executive strategic decision-making and helps them identify opportunities for innovation, optimize operations, mitigate risks with business disruptions,鈥� Carter says. 鈥淚f an executive is AI savvy, they can help defend the enterprise against vendor-driven hype, and they can see through what really is important for the organization to focus on.鈥�
Who鈥檚 responsible for training?
The survey results should also spark discussions about training and upskilling, Carter says.
鈥淭he finding really begs the question of whether or not their perception of the AI savviness is actually justified, and whether or not it鈥檚 accurate,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚f it is the case that there truly is a lack of AI savviness within the senior most technology ranks, then what is it going to take to improve that AI knowledge? What do technology leaders need to do?鈥�
A lack of AI expertise in CIOs and other C-suite leaders can be both an organizational and an individual problem, Carter says. Both the 娇色导航and the company bear responsibility for fixing the problem.
鈥淚t should be a group effort,鈥� she says. 鈥淎t the end of the day, if all these organizations are adopting these mass amounts of advanced technologies, it鈥檚 up to everyone to take that initiative, to pursue the continuous education and to pursue cross-functional collaboration opportunities, mentorship, and networking.鈥�
A separate found that only 36% of executives, including CIOs, believe their IT organizations are delivering basic services effectively.
CEOs鈥� fear of missing out
While Carter sees Gartner鈥檚 survey results as a call for upskilling, some IT leaders suggest that miscommunication or misunderstandings about current AI capabilities may cause some doubt about 娇色导航expertise.
Many CEOs see the hype about AI but don鈥檛 understand the on-the-ground realities of making it work, says , global 娇色导航at youth training organization JA Worldwide. CEOs sometimes push to implement AI tools that aren鈥檛 yet useful because of a fear of falling behind, he adds.
鈥淥ften, the CEO is going to conferences and events where AI is a topic and speaks with some lecturers and presenters who explain how AI is very easy to implement and is very powerful,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut when it comes to data security, cost, privacy, compliance, protecting company data, etc., things are very complicated, and CEOs don鈥檛 go that deep.鈥�
In many cases, there鈥檚 a gap between CEO expectations and 娇色导航delivery of AI solutions, adds , cofounder and CEO of IT consulting firm Fusion Collective. Most CIOs and CDOs understand the technology better than CEOs, who are often 鈥渄azzled by parlor tricks鈥� from AI vendors, she says.
鈥淭he perceived lack of faith in CIOs and CDOs isn鈥檛 about expertise deficiency 鈥� it鈥檚 about a fundamental disconnect between CEO expectations and organizational realities,鈥� she says. 鈥淐EOs are being bombarded with AI hype and vaporware vendor promises without fully understanding the complex infrastructure, governance, and security challenges that must be addressed first.鈥�
Schmitter points to stories about customer-service chatbots going off script and as evidence that CIOs should be cautious when rolling out new AI tools.
鈥淲hat looks like hesitation to CEOs is actually responsible caution from technology leaders who see the complete picture,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he truth is, CIOs aren鈥檛 moving too slowly 鈥� they鈥檙e moving deliberately to prevent their organizations from becoming another cautionary tale.鈥�
This difference between CEO expectations and deployment realities can raise unwarranted questions about 娇色导航expertise, adds Ronnie Pisani, 娇色导航at NinjaCat, an AI vendor focused on marketing solutions.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a massive difference between what鈥檚 technically possible with AI and what鈥檚 practical to deploy in a complex enterprise environment today,鈥� he says. 鈥淢any CEOs are absorbing headline-level narratives, while CIOs are in the trenches dealing with siloed data, legacy systems, and real-world constraints.鈥�
The disconnect between CEOs and CIOs isn鈥檛 about knowledge, but mismatched timelines, Pisani adds. 鈥淩eal transformation takes groundwork and patience,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not always flashy and doesn鈥檛 make headlines, but it鈥檚 the foundational work that makes the big leaps possible.鈥�
Linking AI to business growth
Beyond implementation timelines, much of the problem comes from a lack of business translation, adds Assaf Melochna, president and cofounder of AI platform Aquant.
鈥淢ost CIOs and CDOs know the tech; they understand models, data pipelines, and infrastructure,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut CEOs don鈥檛 want a lesson in AI. They want to know how it drives growth.鈥�
CIOs and CDOs need to rethink their roles because of the pace of change in the AI ecosystem, and they should focus more on being product owners and business strategists, instead of IT implementers, Melochna says.
鈥淚n today鈥檚 climate, the pace is unforgiving; by the time you master one breakthrough, two more have arrived,鈥� he adds. 鈥淐EOs need technology executives in tune with the market like never before, just to maintain a stable view of what AI can bring to their company. That鈥檚 what earns trust.鈥�
