Half of AI pilot projects make it to production: Gartner

A little over half (54 percent) of AI projects make it from pilot to production according to a new survey from Gartner.

Forty percent of organisations surveyed indicated that they have thousands of AI models deployed. This creates governance complexity for the organisation, further challenging data and analytics leaders’ ability to demonstrate return on investment from each model.

And the majority of executives said they believe that automation can be applied to any business decision according to a new survey from Gartner.

Frances Karamouzis, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner said scaling AI continues to be a significant challenge.

“Organisations still struggle to connect the algorithms they are building to a business value proposition, which makes it difficult for IT and business leadership to justify the investment it requires to operationalise models.”

The survey has shown that enterprises are shifting away from a purely tactical approach to AI and beginning to apply AI more strategically, according to Erick Brethenoux, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner.

 “For example, a third of organisations are applying AI across several business units, creating a stronger competitive differentiator by supporting decisions across business processes.”

While talent shortages are often assumed to impact AI initiatives, the survey found it is not a significant barrier to AI adoption. Seventy-two percent of executives reported that they have or can source the AI talent they need.

“The most successful organisations use a combination of in-house development and external hiring for AI talent. This ensures that the team renews itself continuously by learning new AI skills and techniques and considering new ideas from outside the organisation,” said Brethenoux.

Security and privacy concerns were not ranked as a top barrier to AI adoption, cited by just 3 percent of executives surveyed. Yet, 41 percent of organisations reported they have previously had a known AI privacy breach or security incident.

When asked which parties the organisation was most worried about when it comes to AI security, 50 percent of respondents cited concerns about competitors, partners or other third parties, and 49 percent were concerned about malicious hackers.

However, among organisations that have faced an AI security or privacy incident, 60 percent reported data compromise by an internal party.

“Organisations’ AI security concerns are often misplaced, given that most AI breaches are caused by insiders,” said Brethenoux.

“While attack detection and prevention are important, AI security efforts should equally focus on minimising human risk.”

The survey was conducted online from October through December 2021 among 699 respondents at organisations who have deployed AI or intend to deploy AI within three years.