Artificial intelligence (AI) utilization and trust were analyzed in a recent BSI report. The survey found that U.S. executives recommend higher rates of employee involvement in and awareness of AI development than other leading countries.

Ninety percent of U.S. business leaders say their company encourages the use of AI or has confidence in their ability to successfully harness its benefits. 

American leaders are seemingly prioritizing systems and structures in AI development, with more than half (54%) of leaders saying their company has an AI strategy in place. And while most business leaders surveyed agreed it’s important to keep up to date with regulations and guidance around AI use and management; the U.S. finds it to be the most important compared to other markets at 69% agreement. 

Leaders in the U.S. (59%) and Germany (55%) place high importance on involving employees in testing and trialing new AI tools, compared with 31% in the UK and Japan. A similar picture emerges around transparency; in the US, two-thirds of business leaders say it is a high priority to inform employees about AI use, compared to less than a quarter (24%) in Japan and 36% in the Netherlands. 

Companies who are already or planning to leverage AI in their business expect to utilize the technology for operations (74%), marketing (64%) and sales (56%), with the goal of either enhancing or delivering a new standard of customer experience (58%). Concerning internal operations, businesses are utilizing AI primarily in the candidate recruitment process (74%) and to aid in employee performance management (78%).  

U.S. leaders may also still be lacking some key assets that could help them properly integrate AI into their organizations. Thirty-eight percent report having an L&D program to ensure successful delivery of AI training, a board level executive focusing on how AI is being deployed in the business (32%) and a Chief AI executive or equivalent role (13%).

The research finds that 83% of businesses overall recognize the importance of informing their supply chain about how AI is being used, and 82% say similarly about customers. Yet, there is a gulf between whether those conversations are happening in reality, as less than half (41%) of built environment leaders said they are at all aware of their business informing customers on how AI is being used in the business, compared to healthcare (80%), retail (79%) and agriculture leaders (74%).  

The survey also found that agriculture and healthcare sectors may be falling short in their pursuit of AI solutions to digital trust issues. Around three-in-four (74%) agriculture leaders said they’re utilizing AI to identify and manage cyber risks, and that figure drops to less than half (48%) among healthcare companies. 

Read the report.