Section 3 - Leadership and talent
Leaders are taking generative AI – and its challenges – seriously
People who can scale AI throughout the organization will be in high demand, as will new skillsets such as prompt engineering and model fine-tuning.
One clear positive in this rapid embrace of generative AI is that it is being taken seriously by senior executives, and beyond IT. Typically, the chief information officer (CIO) is the primary sponsor for technology innovation programs, followed by business function leaders. Our data reflects this trend, with CIOs sponsoring generative AI initiatives in 26% of businesses surveyed.
However, our survey also reveals that both chief executive officers (CEOs) and chief information security officers (CISOs) play leading roles. CISOs are lead sponsors of these initiatives in 18% of businesses and CEOs in 16% (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Who is the main sponsor of generative AI?
Source: Infosys Knowledge Institute
As discussed later in this report, CEO involvement is a strong indicator that generative AI projects will deliver transformative outcomes — not least because the top-level leaders set strategic priorities, commit sufficient resources, and measure executives on program success.
The significant CISO involvement finding is also positive, as it shows that many businesses take seriously the potential threats posed by generative AI. Security and privacy concerns extend beyond internal processes and policies to a rapidly evolving cyber threat and regulatory landscape.
Indeed, our survey also found significant scrutiny of generative AI regulations and policies — another positive sign for the responsible rollout of this technology. The CIO most often takes the lead on these initiatives (22%). However, the board of directors and CISO (both 21%) are just as likely to define generative AI regulations and policies for their companies (Figure 6). This reflects how seriously organizations view generative AI and the risk level they perceive, whether reputation, investment size, or transformation potential.
As with most technologies and initiatives, talent is central to realizing the potential of generative AI. Those who scale AI across the organization will be in high demand, as will new skillsets such as prompt engineering and model fine-tuning. “While some worry that AI will take their jobs, someone who is an expert in AI will certainly do so,” Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, recently told Infosys.
As we discuss in our Tech Navigator report, AI talent is one of the top four challenges for executives to transform their enterprise. Our survey backs this up, revealing that lack of skills and talent is the biggest challenge for 18% of companies (Figure 8). We also found that most companies plan to tackle the skills challenge by upskilling and reskilling employees (41%). The next most often cited plan is to partner with vendors (33%). A smaller number (26%) plan to recruit talent (Figure 7).
Figure 6. Tech leaders and boards of directors most often lead generative AI governance
Figure 7. How companies plan to close the generative AI skills gap
Whether upskilling, partnering, or recruiting, this AI talent must combine requisite engineering knowledge with the softer skills necessary to work in small, cross-functional, product-based teams — emphasizing characteristics such as empathy, problem-solving, and integrity.
Section 3 – Leadership and talent
Generative AI Radar 2023: North America
Chief information officer
Chief information security officer
Chief executive officer
Business unit leader
Don’t know
