Irish business leaders are more likely than their European peers to be sympathetic to AI
Expleo’s research found that, in the age of AI, in many organizations, empathy is a core competency.
Technology and consulting firm Expleo has released the results of its AI Pulse sentiment tracker, Ireland’s Expleo AI Pulse. The organization collected data from 200 respondents across Ireland, Germany, France and the UK, to identify levels of anxiety, excitement, trust and confidence in AI-led technology.
The study found that business leaders in Ireland, ahead of their European counterparts, are more likely to value empathy as a core skill for managers in the age of AI, despite ongoing concerns about the impact AI will have on the global job market.
Data taken in the month of April found that Irish business leaders believe that human-centred training, empathic coaching and people leadership are among the most important skills a manager can use in the face of increasing adoption of AI. This was true for 28pc of participants based in Ireland, compared to 21pc in the UK, 18pc in Germany and 15pc in France.
“The high number of business leaders who value human-centered leadership actually reflects a greater level of AI maturity. Business leaders here understand that it’s people who transform organizations, not AI,” said Phil Codd, Ireland managing director, Expleo.
AI transformation
In regions outside of Ireland, the most valued skill on average across the market was found to be the ability to integrate AI into workflows and drive change (25pc), however, Ireland was comparatively less confident, with less than 20pc sharing this view.
There is also significant concern among Irish business leaders, 45pc of whom are concerned about how AI is changing their organisation, up from 43pc since March. This fear is less pronounced outside of Ireland, standing at 41pc in the UK and just 34pc in France and Germany.
Codd said, “Organizations that will gain the most from AI are not the ones that rush to implement it immediately, but the ones that invest in the people side.
At the end of last week International Data Corporation (IDC), in collaboration with Dell Technologies, has published a new global study that examines how European governments and public sector organizations are approaching AI autonomy and agency and what will be needed to deploy the technology at scale.
The report found that leaders in the European public sector are showing a strong drive to accelerate modernization with agent AI, however, efforts are hampered by the skills gap needed to use the advanced technology effectively. Almost 70pc of European public sector IT leaders, who took part in the survey, say that the current workforce cannot keep up with changing technologies.
This was in contrast to a report published by an Irish technology consultancy Accenturewhich found that, for many employees, there is a growing disconnect between expectations for outcomes from AI and the level of readiness among employees.
Commenting on the findings of the Accenture report, Hilary O’Meara, Accenture’s country managing director for Ireland, said: “Ireland has all the ingredients to lead the age of AI – a skilled workforce, a proven public and private sector to deliver, deep connections with the global technology industry, and real national ambition. The question now is whether Irish business will play its part.”
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