Organizations want stronger AI regulation amid growing concerns

AI professionals are still facing some very real challenges in democratizing data, much less AI (much less Generative AI), across their organizations, according to Dataiku.

While the global survey of 400 respondents revealed broad enthusiasm and action around Generative AI, the European results showed that European senior AI professionals are more likely to see Generative AI as a revolution that will change the way we work (29%), compared to the U.S. (23%).

Official AI regulation demand

Industries move at different paces in their adoption of Al governance and responsible Al – some being naturally more accustomed to adapting business processes to ever-evolving regulations than others. However, with discussion of Generative Al and LLMs nearly everywhere, it’s not surprising that more than half of respondents believe that Al requires more official regulation.

European data leaders are more likely to have clear processes for delivering AI projects and putting them into production (57%), compared to the U.S. (43%).

However, European respondents also feel current AI regulation is not sufficient, with just under half agreeing that AI requires more regulation, and a third answering that they do not believe that organizational leaders (i.e., C-Suite) understand the risks and benefits of AI.

“We believe an ongoing dialogue and collaboration in AI is needed, and these findings show that data leaders across Europe and the U.K. are not insensitive to the potential downsides of this technology,” said Shaun McGirr, Field Chief Data Officer at Dataiku. “Together, we need to increase public awareness about the potential impact of AI on society and future generations. Now is the time to have an honest conversation about how we want this technology to be used.”

AI adoption and perception

The European results form part of a larger global survey of data leaders across a range of enterprises and industries, which was run in June 2023 to explore AI adoption and perceptions.

Respondents were closely divided on AI maturity, with nearly half (48%) reporting that they are embedding or expanding data science and AI, while 51% are still experimenting or establishing AI.

However, tracking value trailed deployments, with 37% data leaders accounting for the value of data science and AI initiatives with consistent frameworks, or accounting for AI on the balance sheet like other strategic initiatives. 55% have an inconsistent tracking system or only record results anecdotally.

“These findings demonstrate the significant interest in generative AI but also the accompanying challenges, from data access and privacy to regulation,” said Prem Prakash, Head of AI Marketing at Databricks. “As we navigate these challenges, our shared mission with Dataiku stands firm: to democratize data and AI, enabling every organization to build their generative AI solutions securely and cost-effectively.”