Despite great enthusiasm for AI's transformational potential, barriers still threaten to hinder its full-scale adoption. New research from UST reveals that while 92% of companies recognize AI as crucial to their future success, 76% struggle with a severe shortage of AI talent. This skills gap, combined with complex regulatory requirements and ethical concerns, is stalling AI adoption in large enterprises worldwide, slowing the technology's potential impact.
The research highlights a significant paradox in the world of AI. Despite the broad unanimity on AI's strategic importance—92% of companies say it is critical to their success—the majority of enterprises struggle with a severe shortage of in-house AI knowledge.
"The absence of mature AI governance frameworks is a glaring problem that enterprises can no longer ignore. 90% of those surveyed agree that robust regulations are needed to guide its development and mitigate risks as AI becomes deeply embedded in society. Soon, AI regulations and privacy-first AI will become essential to modern platforms, with algorithmic transparency, explainability, and risk metrics ensuring that only ethically designed AI systems earn public trust. These findings show that we must accelerate efforts to develop and implement sound AI governance policies to create a future where AI systems fulfill their potential as powerful for the common good," said Adnan Masood, Chief Architect – AI & Machine Learning, UST.
This gap, combined with increasingly complex legal frameworks and ethical challenges, is posing significant impediments to AI application. The report indicated that while more than half (54%) of surveyed companies have integrated AI into their operations, only 8% report no impediments to attaining their AI objectives. Moreover, 89% see the need to increase AI investment to remain competitive, yet considerable barriers persist.
Complexities of AI adoption
Nearly half of respondents (44%) see the AI deployment process as difficult, citing security concerns (40%), a lack of internal expertise (33%), and regulatory challenges (33%). The study discovered that 76% of companies suffer a scarcity of AI-skilled individuals, urging 89% to seek external help for an efficient AI deployment.
Interestingly, more than two-thirds (67%) believe there aren't enough external consultants specialized in AI, and more than a third (38%) believe external expertise is less expensive than building in-house talents. However, 31% of respondents cite difficulty in upskilling their current personnel.
Ethical matters
In terms of ethical and regulatory considerations, 91% of respondents think that a responsible AI framework is necessary, yet only 39% believe their existing strategy is highly effective. Furthermore, more than 9 out of 10 respondents agree that increased regulation is required to enable responsible AI implementation, both inside their industries (91%), and across all sectors (92%).
The key motives for regulation are to protect data privacy (62%), increase transparency (57%), and promote ethical use (55%). Despite these concerns, there is widespread discontent with government and industry initiatives in this area, with 71% and 64% of respondents believing that not enough is being done.
