Generative AI, such as ChatGPT and MidJourney, is sweeping across content previously considered the exclusive property of humans, including text, images, and videos. As CEOs predict that the possession of generative AI will change the competitive landscape, discussions regarding governance are intensifying as this technology impacts the workforce market and ethics in general.

According to a global research survey by IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) on the 5th, corporate CEOs were found to prioritize productivity as the top priority for companies, followed by technological modernization.

CEOs have cited technology factors as the external factor having the greatest impact on their organizations over the next three years in four consecutive survey responses, indicating that advanced technology is exerting significant influence on recent business.

CEOs recognize that 'technological modernization' is a key element in achieving productivity goals, and accordingly, they have placed technology as the second highest priority after productivity. They expressed concern that they would encounter various obstacles while competing to modernize and introduce new technologies such as generative AI.

According to IBV’s annual CEO study, “CEO Decision-Making in the AI Era: Act with Intention,” 75% of respondents said that competitive advantage would be determined by which organization possesses the most advanced generative AI.

Half of CEOs (50%) said they are already integrating generative AI into products and services, and 43% said they are using generative AI for strategic decision-making.

It was found that there is a difference in opinion between CEOs and executives regarding AI readiness. Only 29% of executives participating in the survey stated that they possess the in-house expertise to adopt generative AI, and even among senior executives who are not CEOs, only 30% responded that their company is ready to responsibly adopt generative AI.

While CEOs perceived that they were ready to adopt generative AI, other executives took a reserved stance, perceiving a lack of in-house capabilities for AI adoption.

AI is also expected to impact workforce structures in the future. Approximately 43% of CEOs responded that they would reduce or reallocate their workforce due to generative AI, and 28% said they plan to do so within the next 12 months.

The management was also grappling with potential risks or obstacles to technology, such as bias, ethics, and security. It was found that more than half of CEOs (57%) are concerned about data security, and 48% are concerned about bias or data accuracy.

Jesus Mantas, Global Managing Partner at IBM Consulting, stated, “Generative AI can lower barriers to AI adoption, and half of the CEOs interviewed indicated they are actively considering its adoption to bring a new wave of productivity, efficiency, and service quality across industries.” He advised that “companies must plan new large-scale use cases for generative AI by evaluating their requirements regarding data privacy, intellectual property protection, security, and accountability and governance for algorithms.”

Meanwhile, IBV, in collaboration with Oxford Economics, interviewed 3,000 CEOs across 24 industries in more than 30 countries, including Korea, as part of the 28th edition of the IBM Executive Research Series, and a survey on generative AI was conducted with over 200 CEOs in the United States.