Misjudgments in artificial intelligence (AI) strategy are now among the top five emerging risks for businesses. They rank third in Gartner’s quarterly Emerging Risks Report, with AI-induced competitive displacement coming in fourth. Kevin Mercado, a senior director analyst at Gartner, believes competitive urgency can overshadow an organization’s readiness.
- Gartner classe les erreurs de stratégie IA parmi les cinq principaux risques émergents.
- Les entreprises risquent de perdre du terrain face aux concurrents qui utilisent mieux l’IA.
- Les investissements doivent correspondre aux priorités, à la tolérance au risque et à la préparation de l’entreprise.
- La valeur durable vient du lien entre l’IA et des résultats métier clairs, ainsi que d’une gouvernance qui encadre l’expérimentation.
According to Gartner, Inc., a company specializing in business and technology trend analysis, businesses risk turning AI, a strategic opportunity, into a source of risk for their operations. Mentioned for the first time in the report, AI strategy misjudgment was cited as the third biggest concern by the 308 enterprise risk management (ERM) leaders, auditors, and senior executives surveyed.
This topic ranks behind AI-detected cybersecurity vulnerabilities and geopolitical shocks related to energy supply, which held the top two spots last quarter. ‘The risk associated with AI now extends beyond mere technological and governance concerns to the very heart of corporate strategy,’ said Kevin Mercado, senior director analyst in the Risk and Audit practice research team at Gartner. According to him, the emergence of these missteps and competitive displacement reflects a growing worry: organizations could make major decisions based on anticipated benefits that fail to materialize, or lose ground to competitors using AI more effectively.
Choices Need Better Scrutiny
A misjudgment involves investing too aggressively in AI, choosing unsuitable use cases, or moving forward before organizations are ready to manage the operational, cultural, and governance implications of this technology. ‘Organizations risk launching AI initiatives without sufficiently verifying whether the use case aligns with business priorities, risk tolerance, available capabilities, and expected returns,’ said Kevin Mercado.
A Strategic Action Plan
Gartner analysts recommend developing a strategic AI action plan to help enterprise risk management leaders manage risks and create value by addressing common mistakes at each stage of the AI journey. These leaders can help anchor such solutions, whether presented as value-creation initiatives or risk-mitigation activities. This includes ensuring AI investments are tied to strategic priorities, that readiness and governance requirements are met before any scaling, and that value is measured by AI’s impact on decision-making, not just productivity.
‘Businesses should view AI as a set of strategic decisions,’ said Kevin Mercado. According to the report, those most likely to generate lasting value will be the ones that link their AI investments to clear business outcomes, verify their readiness before scaling, and implement governance that fosters responsible experimentation.
