Just a quarter of C-suite executives think their companies are ready for generative AI

For the last five years, the data crunchers at Accenture have attempted to put some meat on those bones, with their latest effort out this morning.

They ingest more than 40 data series in order to measure change in six areas—technology, economics, talent, geopolitics, climate, and consumer & social. Their conclusion: the pace of change is indeed accelerating.

It has risen steadily since 2019, soaring 183% in the last four years, and 33% in the last year alone. Most of the 3,400 C-suite executives surveyed by the firm (88%) expect change to continue to accelerate in 2024.

What’s driving the change? Technology was the top driver of the six in 2023, after being in last place in 2022. You can credit that to the release of ChatGPT. 

Talent fell from the top spot in 2022 to the number two spot in 2023. And geopolitics went from number two in 2022 to number five in 2023.

The report also confirms a point I made last week, that most companies are taking a cautious approach to generative AI. 

Only 27% of C-suite executives said their organizations are ready to scale-up generative AI solutions, while 72% agreed with the statement: “The recent backlash on generative AI (e.g., policy issues, lack of accuracy, low initial ROI) will cause our organization to slow down planned investment in GenAI in 2024.”

You can read the full Accenture report here. And if you are wondering why CEO Daily seems so research-heavy this week, it’s because many companies are rushing out research in advance of next week’s World Economic Forum in Davos. Peter and I will both be there, and reporting back here. 

Other news below.

Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com

CEO Daily is off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday and will be back in your inbox on Tuesday.

TOP NEWS

Goldman changes tack on diversity

Goldman Sachs is ending its “Launch with GS” initiative, which promised to invest $1 billion into companies led and owned by women and people of color. The bank claims it met that commitment last June. Goldman Sachs is now pivoting to its One Million Black Women campaign, a ten-year pledge to provide $10 billion in investment capital to address gender and racial biases faced by Black women. Fortune

Airbus hits a record

Airplane manufacturer Airbus broke a record for the most orders in a single year, booking 2,319 orders in 2023. Airlines are scrambling to order as many planes as they can, leading to a shortage: Airbus’s A320neo is mostly sold out until the early 2030s. Airbus’s competitor Boeing booked 1,456 orders last year. The Wall Street Journal

Big box stores

The hot new destination for Hong Kong tourists isn’t Japan or Southeast Asia: It’s Sam’s Club, the membership-only warehouse retailer with an outlet just across the border in Shenzhen. Hong Kong people are flocking to shopping and eating destinations in mainland China, looking for cheap entertainment. That’s bad news for Hong Kong’s local economy: The city’s restaurant industry reported a 10% year-on-year drop in revenue over New Year’s Eve. Financial Times

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

WebMD’s parent company goes nuclear on return to office in an uncanny leaked video: ‘We need you ready and present, and we need it now’ by Jane Thier

LVMH is fed up with fake goods being sold on TikTok—so it is in talks to join forces with the video platform to stop it by Prarthana Prakash

‘1 in 5 American kids may go to bed hungry tonight–and unprecedented attacks on the 50-year-old bipartisan WIC program could make the situation even worse’ by Jennifer Garner and Hamdi Ulukaya

Tech kicks off 2024 with a layoff bender as the industry braces for yet another ‘bumpy landing’ by Kylie Robison

Bitcoin goes public: What the ETF victory means and what comes next by Jeff John Roberts

Highly mutated COVID variant ‘Pirola’ JN.1 is spawning. Its descendants are climbing the charts, as the global death toll mounts by Erin Prater

This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.