The Fortune 500 CEOs in our annual survey have spent much of the past two years solving labor puzzles—struggling with talent shortages while seeking a balance between remote and in-office work. Inflation and a slowing economy have led to layoffs, and many CEOs see recession as a looming threat to livelihoods. But advances in artificial intelligence are prompting these leaders to think differently about productivity. Many are already using generative A.I. Very few see technological change as a top worry. And three-quarters of CEOs expect that A.I. will result in their needing fewer workers in five years—a shift that will create its own social and managerial challenges.
Poll conducted May 1–10, 2023
A version of this story appears in the June/July 2023 issue of Fortune with the headline, “CEOs leap into the A.I. unknown.”