Artificial Intelligence & Robotics
Company execs who don’t deliver on AI may face job risks, new report shows
Technology leaders are increasingly judged not on how quickly they implement artificial intelligence but on how effectively they manage its risks and use it to achieve successful business outcomes, according to a new report. (Photo illustraton by Sara Wadford/ABA Journal/Shutterstock)
Technology leaders are increasingly judged not on how quickly they implement artificial intelligence but on how effectively they manage its risks and use it to achieve successful business outcomes, according to a new report from data analytics platform Dataiku and the Harris Poll.
According to the report, titled 7 Career-Making AI Decisions for CIOs in 2026, 74% of chief information officers think that their jobs will be at risk if their companies do not deliver measurable gains from AI. Currently, 95% brief their governance boards on their companies’ AI performance, and nearly half submit these reports every month.
When announcing the report, Florian Douetteau, the co-founder and CEO of Dataiku, noted that “CIOs are moving from experimentation into accountability faster than most organizations expected.”
“The pressure is real, and the timeline is tight, but there is a path to success,” Douetteau also said. “It favors CIOs who act decisively now, building AI systems they can explain, govern, and stand behind before accountability is imposed rather than chosen.”
Law.com has additional coverage.
Among its findings, the report identifies challenges that CIOs have faced while experimenting with AI. Seventy-four percent say they regret at least one major decision made around AI in the last 18 months, while 62% say their CEOs questioned or challenged those decisions. Nearly one-third say they were asked to justify outcomes involving AI that they couldn’t fully explain.
CIOs also say there may be less tolerance for “learning curves” in the future. According to the report, 71% expect their AI budgets to be cut or frozen if their objectives aren’t met by the middle of this year. Further, 85% say their inability to explain AI outcomes has already delayed or stopped projects.
The report is based on a global survey of 600 CIOs.
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