- AI company Dataiku released a survey that said most CEOs are worried about losing their jobs to AI. Business leaders are also worried about moving too slow, out of fear they’ll lose their jobs to a more fast-paced, AI-forward chief executive.
What do CEOs really think of artificial intelligence? The question nagged Dataiku CEO Florian Douetteau—whose company sells AI software to enterprises—and his team enough to commission a survey to find out.
One thing became clear from the results: CEOs see AI as a threat to their positions.
In the survey, 74% of CEOs overall—and 79% in the U.S.—said they could lose their jobs within two years if they don’t deliver measurable AI-driven business gains. The survey, conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Dataiku earlier this year, polled 500 CEOs in Europe and the U.S.
“Part of the thing that we learned from the survey is that many CEOs realize that they have to do things about AI and are almost, to some extent, fearful of losing their job or their position because of AI, because of not doing enough,” Douetteau said Tuesday at Fortune’s Brainstorm AI event in London.
For Dataiku, knowing how CEOs view AI could be helpful. Clients as varied as Morgan Stanley, GE Aviation, and Perdue Farms use its platform to manage data, analytics, and AI projects. Founded in 2013 in Paris, the company’s latest reported valuation was $3.7 billion.
Failed AI strategies
In the survey, 70% of CEOs said they believe a fellow CEO will be ousted by year’s end due a failed AI strategy or AI-induced crisis, according to the survey.
In the worst-case scenario, Douetteau said, business leaders deploying a flawed AI initiative “actually break something…they create an issue.”
But CEOs also see risks in not moving quickly enough with AI, he added. While they could be accused of being irresponsible with the technology if they move too fast, they also fear being replaced by a next-generation, AI-first CEO if they go too slow, he said.
“It’s a moment where a lot of organizations will actually transform their productivity, where the one that will go faster to AI will potentially be a big winner, but also where people that go too fast and create risk in their business could also be the first losers,” he said.
If AI has CEOs on edge, their leadership teams should be wary, too, the survey results suggest. “Half of all CEOs surveyed believe AI can replace 3-4 executive team members for the purpose of strategic planning,” the survey report states. And “89% feel AI can develop a better strategic plan than a member of their executive leadership team.”
Douetteau also noted a survey result showing 94% of CEOs felt an AI agent “could provide equal or greater counsel on business decisions than a human board member.”