AI budgets are up significantly over the past year as companies compete to survive and grow market share during the global pandemic, according to Appen, which published its State of AI and Machine Learning report this week. The study also detected a correlation between AI budget size and the likelihood that AI projects will actually be deployed on the one hand, and budgets and the use of external data providers on the other. Now in its seventh year, Appen's State of AI seeks to generate a broad snapshot of AI investments across the United States. The company contracted with Harris Poll to investigate various aspects of AI investments and project management at 500 companies, all of which had at least 100 employees. The growth in AI budgets was perhaps the most compelling result to come out of the study, which had a margin of error of 5%. According to the study, the number of companies with budgets ranging from $500k to $5 million increased by 55% compared to last year.

The number of companies with AI budgets in the $500,000 to $5 million range rose 55% year over year, according to Appen's State of AI and Machine Learning report released Tuesday. The survey was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Appen and consulted 501 business leaders and data specialists. Scaling AI technology is a bigger priority for enterprise businesses when compared to their smaller counterparts. By contrast, diversity of the data powering AI is a higher priority for small and medium companies than for enterprises. Regardless of size, businesses with annual AI budgets of $1 million or more were more likely to bring their projects closer to deployment.

AI budgets are up significantly over the past year as companies compete to survive and grow market share during the global pandemic, according to Appen, which published its State of AI and Machine Learning report this week. The study also detected a correlation between AI budget size and the likelihood that AI projects will actually be deployed on the one hand, and budgets and the use of external data providers on the other. Now in its seventh year, Appen's State of AI seeks to generate a broad snapshot of AI investments across the United States. The company contracted with Harris Poll to investigate various aspects of AI investments and project management at 500 companies, all of which had at least 100 employees. The growth in AI budgets was perhaps the most compelling result to come out of the study, which had a margin of error of 5%.

This article is the third in a 5-part series on predictions in AI in 2021 -- catch up on the first and second in the series. Artificial intelligence (AI) has reached the top: Two-thirds of senior executives across industries cite AI as vitally important to the future of their businesses and plan to increase their investments in the space after the pandemic. However, that hasn't stopped many businesses from accelerating their AI programs during the pandemic. The Driving ROI Through AI Report shares that companies increased investments by 4.6% on average over the last year with a plan to invest 8.3% per year over the next three years. Keeping in mind that budgetary concerns from the pandemic may alter these predictions, so far organizations have continued to maximize budgets to stay agile in a fast-evolving space.

Two-thirds of senior executives across industries -- and nearly nine out of ten leaders from the world's largest enterprises -- believe AI is vitally important for the future of their businesses and will be increasing AI investment in the post-pandemic era. However, significant challenges remain on delivering ROI from AI investment. An ESI ThoughtLab study of 1,200 organisations has revealed that companies are generating on average an ROI of only 1.3%, while 40% of AI projects are not yet profitable. The reason for this, according to the research, is that AI initiatives require time, expertise and scale to deliver on their promise of high returns. With the pandemic speeding up the need for quick data-driven decision-making, companies should act now to develop the skills, platforms, and processes that can enable them to achieve the full strategic, operational, and financial benefits from AI.

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%.

Executive involvement in enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives is growing rapidly and more emphasis is being placed on high-quality training data. Both C-suite ownership of AI and budgets over $500K nearly doubled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic serving as a catalyst for accelerated AI initiatives. A key lesson learned from the pandemic is that businesses need to be ready for anything that requires a high level of business agility. It's Darwinism at its finest as businesses that can adapt to market trends faster than their competition can become market leaders and maintain that position. Those that can't do this will fade into obscurity with many going away.

There is a tendency to see artificial intelligence as the latest technology fad, either a buzzword that canny entrepreneurs exploit or the starting point for dystopian nightmares. Both are potentially accurate descriptions of much of the discussion surrounding AI, but both miss the most important point: AI is almost certain to become the most critical feature of the digital economy, assuming a role akin to electricity in the industrial revolution. If that prediction is correct -- and few disagree -- then mastery of AI and leadership in the field could determine the future economic and military balance of power. AI is shorthand for an amalgam of computer processes that permit machines to evaluate and learn about their environment on their own. It includes automated intelligence, assisted intelligence, augmented intelligence and autonomous intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) sits alongside Blockchain as one of the most talked about tech trends of 2017. Just like Blockchain it has its poster children too. Where Blockchain has Bitcoin, AI boasts Amazon's Alexa, IBM's Watson and Salesforce's Einstein, to name just a few. All have demonstrated impressive cognitive powers, from telling users the weather or developing bespoke recipes, to helping to prevent cybercrime. Despite this, there is a notable gap between the headlines grabbing usage from vendors and the real-world adoption of machine and deep learning, and AI within organisations.

For decades, I have studied the impact of technology on the future of work. In my 2001 book, Work 2.0, I found that the future of work would be driven by our ability to deliver MyWorkMyWay -- tailored and deeply personalized info-flows and learning to each individual. Now, with AI, we are on the cusp of finally realizing this powerful capability. Since then, I have witnessed the battle for the soul of the future of work. One of my standard CIO presentations asks leaders to consider how far they will go with AI.