While the streets of Davos are adorned with vibrant banners extolling the promise of artificial intelligence, executives attending the World Economic Forum have expressed their struggles in translating early AI demonstrations into profitable ventures.
The emergence of OpenAI’s viral ChatGPT triggered a frenzy of venture investments and prompted significant shifts within the world’s largest technology companies since late 2022.
However, at this year’s WEF meeting in Davos, several CEOs have voiced their reservations about the current state of generative AI.
AI letdown
Matthew Prince, CEO of cloud and internet security company Cloudflare, suggested that the coming months might feel like an “AI letdown.”
He echoed the sentiment among business leaders that while creating impressive AI demonstrations is feasible, the challenge lies in realizing substantial economic value.
ChatGPT’s rapid ascent is somewhat of an anomaly.
Within the first two months since its launch in November 2022, the chatbot amassed an estimated 100 million users, making it one of the fastest-growing applications in history.
It allowed users to generate content, from poems to school essays, and served as a creative partner for non-business-critical ideas, according to Victor Riparbelli, CEO of AI video generation startup Synthesia.
Not prepared
However, Riparbelli noted that the enterprise sector is not yet fully prepared for chat-based AI. One concern is the absence of a clear strategy to mitigate “hallucinations,” or the generation of false content by AI.
Businesses are also grappling with the challenge of preventing AI chatbots from perpetuating human biases and complying with regulations.
China’s Premier Li Qiang, speaking at Davos, emphasized the importance of ensuring that AI serves the common good while being appropriately governed due to the associated risks to security and ethics.
China’s President Xi Jinping has called for the United Nations to play a central role in AI discussions, as confirmed by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.
A survey conducted by consultancy BCG revealed that approximately 90% of 1,400 C-suite executives are either waiting for generative AI to move beyond the recent hype or are conducting limited experiments and pilot programs.
