Organisations Suffering from ‘AI-induced Paralysis’

Data maturity progress has stalled and organisations are suffering from an AI-induced paralysis, according to new research by data consultancy Carruthers and Jackson.

Unsure about the implications of the adoption of AI, the second annual Data Maturity Index reveals that 87 percent of data leaders report few or no employees are using AI in the workplace, with nearly two-thirds (61 percent) concerned that most employees lack the basic data literacy required to use AI in a safe and compliant way.

Whilst AI is not new, the crystallisation in the public’s mind about how ubiquitous it could be led to the inclusion of new areas of analysis in this years’ Index. Following interviews with hundreds of data leaders, the Index shines a light on both the trepidation felt by data leaders about employee use of AI, and fear of approaching the governance of AI incorrectly due to the unpredictability of the current regulatory environment.

Nearly two fifths (38 percent) of data leaders report that the use of AI had led to a significant increase in discussion of the ethical use of data, yet 41 percent reported that their organisation had implemented little or no data governance framework, an increase by one percentage point on last years’ Index.

“The rise of AI has added an additional layer of complexity to data operations for almost all organisations, as leaders scramble to prepare their businesses to integrate new tools and capabilities whilst pre-empting what the future might look like,” said Caroline Carruthers, CEO, Carruthers and Jackson.

“Our Index reveals that the focus on trying to future-proof data operations with the AI evolution continuing at pace, has created a sort of paralysis amongst data leaders, with data strategy and literacy rates showing few signs of progress over the past 12 months. It is clear that the much heralded AI transformation in the workplace seems to have met a roadblock: insufficient data maturity.”  

 Despite the challenges, the research highlights clear signs that data leaders are successfully laying the technical groundwork for data-powered AI tools. In 2022, 55 percent of data leaders surveyed believed that their data does not flow efficiently through their organisation, with that number falling to below half (49 percent) in this years’ Index. A further 68 percent report that tools including data warehouses and catalogues are mostly supporting their use of data.

 Carruthers concludes: “It is unclear what the ethical and regulatory implications of AI will be for the data world, and data leaders have concerns about creating and implementing a strategy without knowing the whole picture. Simply put, data-driven strategies have to stretch beyond the implications of AI alone, as demonstrated by the way in which existing data tools are shown to be helping organisations to tackle common data challenges. It is crucial that organisations build a data foundation robust enough to support any future tech transformation, but this cannot come at the cost of neglecting their overall data maturity.”