Most large companies are starved for AI-skilled personnel

Bengaluru: About 93 per cent of large companies view AI as essential to their success in the next five years, but 76 per cent of respondents surveyed by digital transformation solutions company UST, cite a severe shortage of AI-skilled personnel. 

The study tabled on Tuesday, surveyed 600 senior IT decision-makers in large companies across the US, UK, India, and Spain. 

Obstacles to effective implementation frequently include a lack of in-house AI skills, increasingly complex regulatory requirements, and rising ethical concerns. Approximately 70 per cent of companies are concerned that a lack of diversity within their AI workforce leads to biased outcomes. 

"The absence of mature AI governance frameworks is a glaring problem that enterprises can no longer ignore,” said Adnan Masood, Chief Architect, AI and Machine Learning, UST.

The fear of automation taking away jobs is more pronounced in India than in other regions with 33 per cent respondents ranking this as a significant barrier to AI implementation.

Large Indian companies allocate 24 per cent of their revenue to digital technologies and tools, which is higher than in other markets.

Among Indian companies, 32 per cent highlighted a need for more suitable external expertise in AI implementation. The top regulatory concern in India is to ensure higher-quality data sets and better accuracy (69 per cent), which is more emphasised in India than in other markets.