APAC IT Leaders Expect Generative AI to Play ‘Big Role’
Almost four in five IT leaders in APAC say the role of AI in their organizations is well-defined, while as many as nine in 10 believe generative AI will soon have a prominent role, according to a new Salesforce report.
These are two findings of the third edition of the State of IT report by Salesforce, which looked at trends impacting IT organizations, shifting approaches to application development, the widening gap between IT services demand and supply, and the transformative impact of automation and artificial intelligence (AI).
In total, the study polled some 4,000 IT decision-makers with a seniority of director level or higher across 28 countries, including 1,400 in the Asia Pacific.
AI will revolutionize IT
Specifically, 78% of IT leaders in APAC say the role of AI in their organizations is well-defined. This figure is poised to grow, as 88% believe generative AI, specifically, will play a prominent part in their organizations.
This is slightly higher than the global average of 86% who believe generative AI will soon have a prominent role in their organizations. Unsurprisingly, leaders are proceeding with caution, with 66% concerned about generative AI’s ethics.
According to Salesforce, this entails carefully choosing the data used to train its AI, red-teaming and assessing bias and toxicity before they impact customers, and building in risk mitigations directly into its generative AI technologies.
Such mitigants include ensuring there is a human in the loop, confidence scores, prompt engineering, safety filters, and the use of citations, says Paula Goldman, the chief ethical and humane use officer at Salesforce in the report.
It’s not just about taking data in, she says, but about what happens to that data once we have it.
“Companies may need data as much as ever, but the best thing they can do to protect customers is to build methodologies that prioritize keeping that data – and their customers’ trust – safe,” said Goldman.
“In the current economic climate, IT leaders are under more pressure than ever to do more with less and move quicker with their projects,” said Sujith Abraham, the senior vice president and general manager for Salesforce ASEAN.
“IT leaders that harness the power of AI and automation will enable the business to drive differentiation through increased levels of speed, productivity, and personalization at scale,” he said.
Paul Mah is the editor of DSAITrends. A former system administrator, programmer, and IT lecturer, he enjoys writing both code and prose. You can reach him at [email protected].
Image credit: iStockphoto/SawitreeLyaon
