Over 50% of surveyed CEOs across South Africa are now hiring for generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) roles that did not exist last year.
This is one of the findings in the latest IBM CEO study, which identifies some key areas for CEOs as they implement and scale GenAI across their organisations.
Conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value, a thought leadership think tank, in partnership with Oxford Economics, the study is based on interviews with 3 000 CEOs from over 30 countries, including SA, and 26 industries, from December 2023 to April 2024.
The conversations focused on business priorities, leadership, technology, talent, partnering, regulation, industry disruption and enterprise transformation. Additional insights were drawn from ongoing IBM Institute for Business Value research related to evolving technologies, including GenAI and hybrid cloud, and various industries.
The study’s findings reveal that 65% of surveyed South African CEOs say their teams have the skills and knowledge to incorporate GenAI.
Additionally, 57% of local respondents admit they are pushing their organisations to adopt GenAI more quickly than some people are comfortable with.
“More South African organisations are embracing GenAI in their enterprise strategies, to drive significant results and achieve sustainable impacts on their bottom line,” says Ria Pinto, GM and technology leader at IBM South Africa.
“By integrating cutting-edge AI solutions in their workflows, local companies can enhance operational efficiency and unlock new opportunities for growth and innovation.
“As more businesses digitise their business models, it is critical to understand the impact of new technologies on the workforce culture, and upskill employees to grow their confidence, ensuring the company stays competitive in an ever-evolving market.”
Amid the widening wave of AI adoption, the debate around its impact on jobs has reached fever pitch, with many worried about mass layoffs as a consequence of AI’s progress.
However, some experts have tried to allay these fears, saying AI adoption will result in new roles that no one has done before.
It’s been revealed that the next rush of people will be coming into new jobs, such as AI data engineers, AI data experts, ethics specialists, security engineers, behaviour analysts and legislative experts.
On the converse side, the IBM study reveals 51% of respondents say they are already struggling to fill key technology roles.
Furthermore, surveyed CEOs believe 36% of their workforce will require retraining and reskilling over the next three years.
The IBM study found that 51% of CEOs identified regulatory constraints as the greatest barrier to innovation in their organisation.
Share