Ireland needs to play catch-up as AI takes off in Europe

Irish organisations are falling behind their European counterparts in the advancement of artificial intelligence, according to a new study by Microsoft which claims the slow take up could threaten AI roll out and ultimately, digital success.
The report, Artificial Intelligence in Europe, was carried out by EY  within 277 major companies, across seven business sectors and 15 countries in Europe.
Overall the report found that 65% of organisations expect AI to have a high impact on their core business. However, Irish organisations are falling behind European neighbours in AI implementation and investment. On the flip side, AI in Ireland is ramping up, with 75% saying they are in planning or piloting phase.
Some 89% of all respondents, 85% in Ireland, expect AI to generate business benefits by optimising their companies’ operations in the future. This is followed by 74% across Europe that expect AI to be key to engaging customers, with 56% of all the companies expecting AI to have a high impact or a very high impact on business areas that are “entirely unknown to the company today”.
Similarly, 65% of all respondents, expect AI to have a high or a very high impact on the core business.
However, despite the apparent sizeable impact that companies expect from AI, only a very small proportion (4%) of the total sample, say that AI is actively contributing to “many processes in the company and is enabling quite advanced tasks”.
The report highlighted “emotional intelligence” as a key and common trait of companies (80%) that use AI successfully. It argues that the ability to understand emotions that impact what motivates people, and to create an open and collaborative environment that empowers people to do their best work. Even so, Irish companies rate emotional intelligence as a lower imperative than the European average.
The report also identified five key business and technical challenges that could impact on successful AI adoption:
· C level and board Inertia – the majority (85%) of companies in Ireland see AI as among the most important items on their agenda. However, while the C-level sees AI as critical, this is not reflected at the board level.
· Uncoordinated AI approach – Only a small proportion of the Irish companies manage AI via a combination of a top-down and bottom-up approach.
· Data management – only a small number of Irish organisations see themselves as highly competent in data management, which is well below the European aggregate.
· Information overload – Over half of Irish organisations fear information overload when it comes to AI implementation and the technical demands of dealing with large data bases and the ability to derive actionable insights.
· Pace of AI change – Over half of those interviewed also expressed concern about keeping up with the pace of change and technology demands placed by AI.
Microsoft Ireland managing director Cathriona Hallahan said: “Advancements in AI are creating new opportunities for businesses in Ireland to accelerate innovation and make it more accessible to everyone. Despite the opportunities which AI can unlock, this research shows that organisations in Ireland must close the gap with their European peers in adopting AI to digitally transform and enhance their competitiveness.
“While AI presents huge opportunities, we have a responsibility to build a partnership of people and technology if organisations are to successfully deploy and use AI to do and achieve more into the future. The onus is on us – business, government, academia and civil society – to come together to create an open and collaborative culture that supports people with intelligent technology.”

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