80% of CEOs worry their job is at risk if AI fails this year, survey shows

A new survey of 900 CEOs around the world made one thing clear: company execs are feeling the heat when it comes to delivering on AI promises.

According to new research from AI company Dataiku and The Harris Poll, most CEOs surveyed view the survival of a company as being tethered to the success of AI tools. 

The survey shows that nearly three-quarters (72%) of U.S. CEOs are feeling the pressure from their boards to prove AI-driven outcomes and ROI. That anxiety is fueling how executives think about their futures. 

A total of 80% of CEOs said their job is at risk if AI fails this year. The survey also shows that 81% of U.S. CEOs said they believe a fellow CEO would be removed from their role because of an unsuccessful AI strategy or crisis.

In the last few years, executives were worried about falling behind on AI innovation. Now, 65% of CEOs feel more stressed about over-investing in AI than getting left behind.

Still, 87% of global CEOs said their jobs are staked on the success of AI. 

That includes the success of autonomous AI agents. Even though companies have deployed agents to complete tasks like coding, the survey found that CEOs feel less confident about deploying agents and worry they can potentially create legal risks.

Some of the most high-profile CEOs have opposing views about how, exactly, AI will change the future of work. Some CEOs, like Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, said that most people will lose their jobs to someone who uses AI, not to AI itself. Block’s Jack Dorsey hopes that AI will completely get rid of middle management roles. The consensus, though, is that things will change.

AI-related layoffs have also burned employees at major companies as of late. Meta announced that it will cut 10% of its workforce this month, while Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong attributed AI acceleration to the company cutting 14% of its workforce.

More than a third (35%) of CEOs confessed that if the AI bubble were to burst, their jobs would be at significant risk. For 78% of U.S. CEOs, AI strategy is a top or high priority—and they’re taking a gamble on both performance and the market.

It turns out, it’s not just workers at the whim of employers who are feeling stressed about how AI will impact their careers.

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