MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Artificial Intelligence in Business Gets Real

To understand the challenges and opportunities associated with the use of artificial intelligence in business, MIT Sloan Management Review, in collaboration with The Boston Consulting Group, conducted its second annual survey of business executives, managers, and analysts from organizations around the world, which this year included 3,076 participants.

The survey, conducted in the spring of 2018, captured insights from individuals working in organizations of various sizes, spread across 29 industries and located in 126 countries. More than two-thirds of the respondents were based outside the United States. The sample was drawn from a number of sources, including MIT Sloan Management Review readers and other interested parties.

As a starting point for this report’s analysis, the total survey population was divided into four subgroups based on the relative AI maturity of respondents’ organizations, combining levels of understanding of AI tools and concepts and levels of adoption of AI applications. To indicate overall understanding, respondents rated their organization’s understanding of nine areas, ranging from familiarity with the technological state of the art to challenges of AI application development to organizational behavior implications.

About the Author

Sam Ransbotham is an associate professor in the information systems department at the Carroll School of Business at Boston College, as well as guest editor for MIT Sloan Management Review’s Artificial Intelligence Big Ideas Initiative. He can be reached on Twitter @ransbotham.

Philipp Gerbert is a senior partner and managing director at The Boston Consulting Group’s Munich office. He is BCG’s global topic leader for digital strategy and a BCG Henderson Institute Fellow for the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Business. He can be reached at gerbert.philipp@bcg.com.

Martin Reeves is a senior partner and managing director at The Boston Consulting Group and the director of the BCG Henderson Institute, which brings ideas and inspiration to forward-looking leaders.

David Kiron is the executive editor of MIT Sloan Management Review, which brings ideas from the world of thinkers to the executives and managers who use them.

Michael Spira is a project leader in The Boston Consulting Group’s Munich office. He is also a BCG Henderson Institute ambassador exploring the impact of AI on business and a core member of BCG’s Energy practice.

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