A Huge Survey of CEOs and Other Execs Just Found Something Damning About AI's Effects on Productivity

"In a new analysis of a survey published by the National Bureau of Economic Research and highlighted by Fortune, around 90 percent of the nearly 6,000 interviewed CEOs, chief financial officers, and other top executives at firms across the US, UK, Germany, and Australia, said that AI has had no impact on productivity or employment at their business. To be clear, the question was about AI's impact generally, and not just from implementing it in the workplace. But around 70 percent of the firms reported actively using AI, meaning the vast majority of them are admitting that adopting the tech hasn't budged the needle for them yet."

"The CEOs themselves don't appear to be getting a whole lot out of using AI tools. While two-thirds said they personally used AI, their average use amounted to only 1.5 hours a week, the survey found - less time than most people spend doomscrolling on their phones in a single day. That's striking, considering that execs tend to be far more enthusiastic about the tech compared to their underlings. Another recent survey, for example, found that 40 percent of rank-and-file white collar workers thought AI didn't save them any time at work, while 98 percent of their bosses did."

"These latest findings will continue to raise questions about AI's economic impact, and in its promise to supercharge productivity in the workplace. In another recent survey, more than half of nearly 4,500 CEOs said their companies weren't seeing a financial return from investing in AI. A notable MIT study rang alarm bells across the industry after findings that 95 percent of companies that incorporated AI experiencing no meaningful growth in revenue."

Executive surveys across multiple countries report that roughly 90 percent of nearly 6,000 top executives see no impact from AI on productivity or employment. Approximately 70 percent of firms report active AI use despite negligible productivity gains. Executives who use AI average only 1.5 hours weekly, less than typical daily social media use. Many companies report no financial return from AI investments, and an MIT study found 95 percent of AI-adopting companies experienced no meaningful revenue growth. Studies also find AI struggles with remote white-collar tasks and can slow programmers by introducing code errors.

Read at Futurism