While CEOs will provide stakeholders and more specifically shareholders with an assurance of continuity, the opposite is true. The average lifespan of a company listed in the S&P 500 index of leading US companies has decreased by more than 50 years in the last century, from 67 years in the 1920s to just 15 years in 2012, according to Professor Richard Foster from Yale University.
From my conversations with industry, I only see the mortality rate of businesses accelerating. There are 8 companies (5 largest market cap – Alphabet, Amazon, et al and the BAT from Asia) that have AI at the core of their business and a number of startups (notice I didn’t say large number of startups as many companies claim to be AI companies, but in many cases it is marketing bravado). Most companies in between are either searching for an AI strategy and not knowing where to start or not believing AI applies to their business (yes, this happens).
Companies need to make big bets, because investing in AI is expensive and good people are hard to come by. Additionally, if the work and research is really cutting edge, timelines can be uncertain. Where does the responsibility for AI investment need to reside? With the CEO. If not, your AI team will be at risk of being evaluated by the level of expense, and not goals, putting it at risk before benefits are realized.
Also posted on Medium
