Two-Thirds of Execs Say AI Work Continues Despite Covid-19

The stat comes from a survey of 347 business leaders across a variety of industries conducted by Australian data AI company Appen. While about 31% of the respondents said the pandemic has either somewhat (24%) or significantly (8%) delayed AI strategies, about 41% said the pandemic had actually sped up such efforts. The report also found an increase in the number of execs who said AI strategies were now led by members of the C-suite--a jump to 71% of respondents from 40% last year--suggesting that companies increasingly see the field as essential to their core business. Budgets are growing too; 28% of execs say their allocated AI budget is between half a million and $5 million, twice as many as last year's 13%. The small fraction with AI budgets beyond $5 million has similarly doubled from 4% to 8%.