Around a quarter of organisations have no formal data strategy in the UK and the US, despite increasing AI usage – creating an ‘AI Paradox’ for businesses.
Only seven per cent of businesses now go without AI, dropping from 26 per cent 12 months ago, according to a survey of almost 200 data leaders from Carruthers and Jackson.
Despite this, 39 per cent reported little to no data governance framework but are pushing ahead with AI adoption anyway.
In contrast, 37 per cent of data leaders claimed their business adopts multiple governance frameworks, rising from 31 per cent in 2023.
Caroline Carruthers, co-founder and chief executive of Carruthers and Jackson, said: “An AI Paradox has been created, as the use of AI tools in organisations has surged in the last year, yet employees lack the data literacy to use them effectively, as their fundamental understanding of data remains largely unchanged from last year.”
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Richard Bovey, chief for data at AND Digital, added: “The benefits of AI are well-known, but a gap remains in the understanding and consideration of the risks it poses if implementation is rushed.
“Businesses need a strong data governance structure to overarch technology development, and that’s especially true when it comes to AI, not only facilitating greater accuracy and reliability within AI outputs but helping to mitigate potential privacy and security concerns.”
The report found that 44 per cent of organisations have at least seen a rise in ethical conversations around AI, but only 13 per cent have turned these into structured AI ethics policies.
Data literacy among staff was identified as a growing concern, with 57 per cent revealing that most employees lack data literacy, despite 53 per cent of organisations reporting an increase in AI tools and usage.