Crafting a fresh take on the original article, we find:
In the bustling tech landscape of 2025, AI remains a hot topic, but many businesses struggle to practically implement it. David Rowlands, Global Head of Artificial Intelligence at KPMG, and Ruth Svensson, a partner who also serves as the Global Head of People and HR CoE at KPMG UK, explain the reason behind this issue: a lack of an AI vision.
Rowlands shares that AI serves as a 'totem' at KPMG, enabling easier access to and understanding of the technology's potential. While tech giants like NVIDIA and Microsoft luxuriate in AI's advantages, Rowlands laments the absence of such revelations within the non-tech sectors, like banking and government. The dearth of benefits leads to sluggish AI adoption, a problem Rowlands attributes to the stagnation of its value.
So what is stifling AI adoption? According to Rowlands and Svensson, it boils down to trust issues, failure to establish a proper technological infrastructure, regulating data, proper employee training, and the all-important human element. The trust issue revolves around stakeholders' doubts in AI's credibility, and business enterprises often lack the necessary fundamental technology infrastructure to experiment with and grow their AI usage.
Data protection forms another significant burden. An MIT Technology Review study revealed that 77% of executives view regulatory, compliance, and data privacy challenges as primary hindrances to rapid AI adoption. Training constraints also obstruct progress, as organizations neglect traditional upskilling mechanisms when working with AI, resulting in training gaps that are harder to identify. The human element poses yet another challenge, as many companies overlook its significance in helping employees embrace AI.
This lack of interest in utilizing AI can be traced back to the absence of a personal incentive in seeing its value. According to Svensson, the tech-savvy demographics, such as software engineers and coders, appreciate AI more readily because they see its benefits. The mass population, however, is far less enamored, leading organizations to struggle in making AI relevant within their workforces.
Rowlands believes that clarity of business cases hampers AI adoption. "Pricing for AI is neither cheap nor clear," Rowlands declares. If employed in a manner that fails to drive a strong business case, AI usage may become a financial and environmental burden.
Those who successfully implement AI at high rates do so based on a clear vision of its benefits, explains Rowlands. In an industry where CEOs lead the charge in embracing new technologies, AI adoption highlights the importance of a foresightful vision.
Svensson and Rowlands maintain that businesses must confront the elephant in the room, addressing the trust issue that arises from misplaced fear of AI job displacement. Companies that focus on inspiring their workforces with the potentials of AI and promising its employment as an opportunity to grow beyond routine tasks will prevail in this new era.
To ensure the successful adoption of AI, companies need to define objectives, set realistic expectations, enforce secure data governance, upskill employees, create a culture of innovation, and establish clear performance metrics. By employing these strategies, businesses can effectively integrate generative AI, reaping its benefits and contributing to a more innovative and dynamic future.
- Ruth Svensson, acknowledging the challenge of AI adoption in non-tech sectors, suggests that the lack of personal incentive in seeing its value is a significant barrier.
- David Rowlands, discussing the barriers to AI adoption, highlights the importance of clarifying business cases, ensuring AI usage drives a strong financial and environmental benefit.
- KPMG's David Rowlands, stressing the role of generative AI in business, encourages companies to establish clear performance metrics and a culture of innovation for successful integration.
- As explained by David Rowlands and Ruth Svensson, addressing the fear of AI job displacement and promoting its employment as an opportunity for growth is key to overcoming the trust issue that hinders AI adoption.
