AI adoption worldwide
The latest IBM Global AI Adoption Index was compiled with data across 7,502 businesses around the world: 500 in each country, United States, China, India, UAE, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Canada, UK, Italy, Spain, France, and Germany; and 1,000 in Latin America—Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. The polling was conducted online through Morning Consult’s proprietary network of online providers from 30 March through 12 April 2022. Some of the findings include:
- Around the world, all larger companies surveyed indicated that they have deployed AI. In 2021, only 69% had deployed AI. China and India were the leaders in AI deployment as of 2022.
- Companies use AI to stay competitive and operate more efficiently. How they are trying to automate varies from sector to sector. Nearly half of companies that have applied AI-based automation have done so to drive
greater IT efficiency, but they are also using automation to give
time back to employees (49%) and address skills gaps.
- Few have made tangible investments in methods to ensure trust or address bias: In 2022 the percentage of IT professionals that said that being able to explain how their AI arrived at a decision is important to their business, shrank by three percentage points compared to 2021.
AI adoption in the U.S.
In this paper, Bonney et al. provide a comprehensive analysis of the current and expected future use of AI by firms. The authors use data from September 2023 to February 2024 from the real time Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS). The BTOS is an experimental data product intended to capture high-frequency changes in economic conditions through a qualitative survey representative of U.S. employer businesses. Here are the key conclusions:
- Growth in AI Use: The bi-weekly estimates of AI use by firms increased from 3.7% to 5.4% during the period studied, with an expected rise to about 6.6% by early Fall 2024.
- Worker Exposure to AI: A higher fraction of workers are employed at businesses that use AI, particularly in large businesses and the Information sector. This indicates that while fewer firms may be using AI, those that do tend to be larger employers.
- Firm Size and AI Use: AI use is more common in large firms, but the relationship between AI use and firm size is not straightforward. It is non-monotonic, meaning that AI use does not increase consistently with firm size.
- Firm Age and AI Use: Younger firms have higher rates of AI use on an employment-weighted basis. The relationship between AI use and firm age is U-shaped, with the youngest and oldest firms having the most employees exposed to AI.
- Common AI Applications: The most common uses of AI reported by firms include marketing automation, virtual agents, and data/text analytics. These applications are often used to substitute for worker tasks and equipment/software operations.
- Employment Effects: Few AI-using firms report reductions in employment due to AI use. Instead, AI users often implement organizational changes such as training staff, developing new workflows, and purchasing cloud services/storage.
- Performance and Expansion: Firms that use AI tend to exhibit better overall performance and a higher incidence of employment expansion compared to other businesses.
- Reasons for Non-Adoption: The most cited reason for not adopting AI is its inapplicability to the business, indicating that many firms do not see a current need for AI in their operations.
Bonney et al. emphasize the importance of tracking AI use in real-time to understand its impact on the economy.
Tracking Firm Use of AI in Real Time: A Snapshot from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey
Authors: Kathryn Bonney, Cory Breaux, Catherine Buffington, Emin Dinlersoz, Lucia Foster, Nathan Goldschlag, John Haltiwanger, Zachary Kroff, Keith Savage
From: U.S. Census Bureau, University of Maryland
