KUALA LUMPUR (May 6): The publicity of ChatGPT has prompted executive leaders to increase artificial intelligence (AI) investments, according to respondents of a poll.

In a statement on May 3, consulting firm Gartner Inc said 75% of executives said their organisations are in investigation and exploration mode with generative AI, while 19% are in pilot or production mode.

Gartner distinguished vice-president analyst Frances Karamouzis said the generative AI frenzy shows no signs of abating.

“Organisations are scrambling to determine how much cash to pour into generative AI solutions, [of which the] products are worth the investment, when to get started and how to mitigate the risks that come with this emerging technology,” she said.

The poll was conducted among 2,544 respondents as part of a Gartner webinar series in March and April 2023 discussing the enterprise impact of ChatGPT and generative AI.

Results of this poll do not represent global findings or the market as a whole, said Gartner.

The firm said the poll found that 68% of executives believe that the benefits of generative AI outweigh the risks, compared with just 5% that feel the risks outweigh the benefits.

However, executives may begin to shift their perspective as investments deepen.

Karamouzis said initial enthusiasm for a new technology can give way to more rigorous analysis of risks and implementation challenges.

“Organisations will likely encounter a host of trust, risk, security, privacy and ethical questions as they start to develop and deploy generative AI,” she said.