Major U.S. companies are growing more concerned about the risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is currently the most important technology. Fortune 500 companies are becoming increasingly worried about how quickly AI is developing and how much they rely on it. In the past year, the number of companies with these concerns has grown six times.
At the same time, a new report shows that new technologies are significantly changing the industrial sector. The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled by the US-based Fortune magazine. Where the country’s largest corporations are ranked based on revenue in their respective fiscal years.
AI on research platform Array usually surveys data from open reports of the largest organizations. According to their recent research, 56 percent out of Fortune 500 companies cite artificial intelligence as a potential ‘risk factor’ in their 2023 annual reports. The number is a big jump from 9 percent in 2022, highlighting growing fears about AI.
According to the report, only 33 of the 108 companies specifically discussed generative AI, a technology capable of reading like humans and creating realistic images. They said they see the sector as an opportunity. These companies in their annual report cite the potential benefits of generative AI as cost savings, operational benefits and rapid incorporation of new innovations. However, more than two-thirds of companies see this technology as a risk.
According to published data, the impact of generative AI is already being observed across various industrial sectors and the largest listed companies in the US.
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OpenEye’s chatbot ChatGPT was launched in November 2022 and became an overnight hit. Since then, the demand and innovation of such machine learning technologies has been increasing. Big companies have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in developing powerful artificial intelligence technologies to exploit new opportunities, launching hundreds of new startups.
The fear of greater competition tops the AI risks in Fortune 500 companies‘ annual financial reports. Companies say they could be hurt if rivals move ahead in the use of AI. Other potential damages include company reputation or operational problems. The moral crisis has also come to the fore. Company executives have expressed concern about the potential impact of artificial intelligence on human rights, employment and privacy.
More than 90 percent of top U.S. media and entertainment companies say fast-growing AI technology poses a business risk in 2023, as do 86 percent of software and technology companies.
More than two-thirds of Fortune 500 telecommunications companies and more than half of investors in healthcare, financial services, retail, consumer and aerospace companies issued similar warnings.
As an example, the report of streaming service Netflix worth 29 billion dollars can be cited. Competitors could take advantage of the streaming sector through the use of AI, the company warned. Innovations by rivals could affect Netflix’s ability to compete, which could be negative for the company as a whole.