Forty nine percent of organisations in Ireland are already using generative AI in some form, according to a report produced by Trinity College Dublin’s Business School, on behalf of Microsoft Ireland.
The report involved a survey of 400 senior managers across both the public and private sectors in Ireland. It assesses the uptake, sentiment, and future trends of generative AI at this early stage of its evolution.
Generative AI
Almost half of organisations across public and private sectors have started to adopt Generative AI.
Microsoft said Ireland’s position as a global technology hub is a significant driver of adoption rates, with multinationals claiming to use 30% more generative AI than indigenous organisations.
Adoption Rates
The survey showed that sectors with the highest planned adoption rates are technology, science, and media, while the agriculture, transport, and utilities sectors appear to be further behind in their generative AI adoption journey.
Almost half (47%) believe the technology will enhance productivity, contrasting with only 17% holding an opposing view, while 46% of respondents agreed that the broad perception in their industry is that generative AI is very useful (22% disagreeing).
'Local Economic Growth'
“While the research indicates that indigenous organisations might be falling behind, this is only the start, there’s still time to be early adopters and harness the innovative potential of AI," said General Manager at Microsoft Ireland, Anne Sheehan.
"Irish organisations also have a unique opportunity to tap into our status as a multinational hub and become leaders in generative AI to deliver local economic growth."
First Movers
The report concludes that organisations who have been 'first movers' in the space of generative AI and use a generative AI-first policy see many more benefits and productivity increases (71%) compared to firms that prohibit generative AI (42%).
Microsoft said these firms also see higher productivity and innovation potential in their employees, in addition to providing higher training, internal resources and finances to support the transition.
'Transformative Innovation'
"While the majority are currently focused on enhancing processes and boosting productivity through incremental advancements, a profound shift towards transformative innovation is essential to secure Ireland's position as a global digital leader," said Ashish Jha, Director of Trinity Centre for Digital Business and Analytics (TCD).
"Generative AI tools are the biggest disruptive innovation enablers of our era and Irish firms are lagging in adoption or planned adoption of these tools."
