Investors expect AI use to soar. That's not happening

An uncertain outlook for interest rates. Businesses may be holding off on investment until the fog clears. In addition, history suggests that technology tends to spread in fits and starts. Consider use of the computer within American households, where the speed of adoption slowed in the late 1980s. This was a mere blip before the 1990s, when they invaded American homes.

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There could, however, be less benign explanations for AI's adoption stagnation. One relates to power dynamics within firms. Almost everyone in senior management sings the praises of AI. In recent earnings calls, nearly two-thirds of executives at S&P 500 companies mentioned AI. At the same time, the people actually responsible for implementing AI may not be as forward-thinking, perhaps because they are worried about the tech putting them out of a job. A survey by Dayforce, a software firm, finds that while 87% of executives use AI on the job, just 57% of managers and 27% of employees do. Perhaps middle managers set up AI initiatives to satisfy their superiors’ demands, only to wind them down quietly at a later date.