tech
The Two Greatest Opportunities of the AI Economy
Companies have spent more on artificial intelligence over the last two years than on any technology in a generation. Most have almost nothing on their income statement to show for it. Roughly four in five organizations report that AI has delivered no measurable business impact. Around 85% are overrunning their AI budgets, undone by token consumption that no one forecasted.
TL;DR
- Most organizations report no measurable business impact from AI and are overspending budgets.
- A significant gap exists between AI model advancement and the slow adaptation of skills, organization, and governance (the 'AI velocity gap').
- This gap is a trillion-dollar opportunity, driven by two engines: reinventing existing work and creating new products/services/business models.
- The first engine involves AI-driven efficiencies in tasks like modernizing systems and writing software.
- The second, larger engine focuses on creating new value pools through novel AI-enabled products and business models.
- Realizing AI value requires system engineering around models, including data, context, guardrails, and orchestration.
- Agentic AI is a custom-built system, not a plug-and-play product, requiring integration, orchestration, and change management.
- Companies must shift from systems integrators to AI builders, adopt interdisciplinary skills, and underwrite outcomes.
- Reskilling workers and creating new roles are crucial for enterprise AI transformation.
- AI has the potential to create more jobs by widening participation and lowering expertise barriers, rather than simply automating labor.