Viewing offline content

Limited functionality available

Dismiss
United States
  • Services

    What's New

    • Register for Dbriefs webcasts

    • Unlimited Reality™

      Metaverse solutions that drive value

    • Sustainability, Climate & Equity

      Cultivating a sustainable and prosperous future

    • Tax

      • Tax Operate
      • Tax Legislation
      • Tax Technology Consulting
      • Mobility and Payroll
      • Legal Business Services
      • Tax Services
    • Consulting

      • Core Business Operations
      • Customer & Marketing
      • Enterprise Technology & Performance
      • Human Capital
      • Strategy & Analytics
    • Audit & Assurance

      • Audit Innovation
      • Accounting Standards
      • Accounting Events & Transactions
    • Deloitte Private

    • M&A and Restructuring

    • Risk & Financial Advisory

      • Accounting & Internal Controls
      • Cyber & Strategic Risk
      • Regulatory & Legal
      • Transactions and M&A
    • AI & Analytics

    • Cloud

    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

  • Industries

    What's New

    • The Ripple Effect

      Real-world client stories of purpose and impact

    • Register for Dbriefs webcasts

    • Industry Outlooks

      Key opportunities, trends, and challenges

    • Consumer

      • Automotive
      • Consumer Products
      • Retail, Wholesale & Distribution
      • Transportation, Hospitality & Services
    • Energy, Resources & Industrials

      • Industrial Products & Construction
      • Power, Utilities & Renewables
      • Energy & Chemicals
      • Mining & Metals
    • Financial Services

      • Banking & Capital Markets
      • Insurance
      • Investment Management
      • Real Estate
    • Government & Public Services

      • Defense, Security & Justice
      • Federal health
      • Civil
      • State & Local
      • Higher Education
    • Life Sciences & Health Care

      • Health Care
      • Life Sciences
    • Technology, Media & Telecommunications

      • Technology
      • Telecommunications, Media & Entertainment
  • Insights

    Deloitte Insights

    What's New

    • Deloitte Insights Magazine

      Explore the latest issue now

    • Deloitte Insights app

      Go straight to smart with daily updates on your mobile device

    • Weekly economic update

      See what's happening this week and the impact on your business

    • Strategy

      • Business Strategy & Growth
      • Digital Transformation
      • Governance & Board
      • Innovation
      • Marketing & Sales
      • Private Enterprise
    • Economy & Society

      • Economy
      • Environmental, Social, & Governance
      • Health Equity
      • Trust
      • Mobility
    • Organization

      • Operations
      • Finance & Tax
      • Risk & Regulation
      • Supply Chain
      • Smart Manufacturing
    • People

      • Leadership
      • Talent & Work
      • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Technology

      • Data & Analytics
      • Emerging Technologies
      • Technology Management
    • Industries

      • Consumer
      • Energy, Resources, & Industrials
      • Financial Services
      • Government & Public Services
      • Life Sciences & Health Care
      • Technology, Media, & Telecommunications
    • Spotlight

      • Deloitte Insights Magazine
      • Press Room Podcasts
      • Weekly Economic Update
      • COVID-19
      • Resilience
      • Top 10 reading guide
  • Careers

    What's New

    • Our Purpose

      Exceptional organizations are led by a purpose. At Deloitte, our purpose is to make an impact that matters by creating trust and confidence in a more equitable society.

    • Day in the Life: Our hybrid workplace model

      See how we connect, collaborate, and drive impact across various locations.

    • The Deloitte University Experience

      Explore Deloitte University like never before through a cinematic movie trailer and films of popular locations throughout Deloitte University.

    • Careers

      • Audit & Assurance
      • Consulting
      • Risk & Financial Advisory
      • Tax
      • Internal Services
      • US Delivery Center
    • Students

      • Undergraduate
      • Advanced Degree
      • Internships
    • Experienced Professionals

      • Additional Opportunities
      • Veterans
      • Industries
      • Executives
    • Job Search

      • Entry Level Jobs
      • Experienced Professional Jobs
      • Recruiting Tips
      • Explore Your Fit
      • Labor Condition Applications
    • Life at Deloitte

      • Life at Deloitte Blog
      • Meet Our People
      • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
      • Corporate Citizenship
      • Leadership Development
      • Empowered Well-Being
      • Deloitte University
    • Alumni Relations

      • Update Your Information
      • Events
      • Career Development Support
      • Marketplace Jobs Dashboard
      • Alumni Resources
  • US-EN Location: United States-English  
  • Contact us
  • US-EN Location: United States-English  
  • Contact us
    • Dashboard
    • Saved items
    • Content feed
    • Subscriptions
    • Profile/Interests
    • Account settings

Welcome back

Still not a member? Join My Deloitte

Future in the balance? How countries are pursuing an AI advantage

by Jeff Loucks, Susanne Hupfer, David Jarvis, Timothy Murphy
  • Save for later
  • Download
  • Share
    • Share on Facebook
    • Share on Twitter
    • Share on Linkedin
    • Share by email
Deloitte Insights
  • Strategy
    Strategy
    Strategy
    • Business Strategy & Growth
    • Digital Transformation
    • Governance & Board
    • Innovation
    • Marketing & Sales
    • Private Enterprise
  • Economy & Society
    Economy & Society
    Economy & Society
    • Economy
    • Environmental, Social, & Governance
    • Health Equity
    • Trust
    • Mobility
  • Organization
    Organization
    Organization
    • Operations
    • Finance & Tax
    • Risk & Regulation
    • Supply Chain
    • Smart Manufacturing
  • People
    People
    People
    • Leadership
    • Talent & Work
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
  • Technology
    Technology
    Technology
    • Data & Analytics
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Technology Management
  • Industries
    Industries
    Industries
    • Consumer
    • Energy, Resources, & Industrials
    • Financial Services
    • Government & Public Services
    • Life Sciences & Health Care
    • Tech, Media, & Telecom
  • Spotlight
    Spotlight
    Spotlight
    • Deloitte Insights Magazine
    • Press Room Podcasts
    • Weekly Economic Update
    • COVID-19
    • Resilience
    • Top 10 reading guide
    • US-EN Location: United States-English  
    • Contact us
      • Dashboard
      • Saved items
      • Content feed
      • Subscriptions
      • Profile/Interests
      • Account settings
    4 minute read 01 May 2019

    Future in the balance? How countries are pursuing an AI advantage Insights from Deloitte’s State of AI in the Enterprise, 2nd Edition survey

    4 minute read 01 May 2019
    • Jeff Loucks United States
    • Susanne Hupfer United States
    • David Jarvis United States
    • Timothy Murphy United States
    • Timothy Murphy United States
    • Save for later
    • Download
    • Share
      • Share on Facebook
      • Share on Twitter
      • Share on Linkedin
      • Share by email
    • AI advantage is not a zero-sum game
    • Comparing AI adopters around the world

    Companies around the globe, boosted by countries’ various strategies, have worked to implement AI practices. Our survey suggests what early adopters have learned—and how leaders can learn from their AI experiences.

    With leaders increasingly seeing artificial intelligence (AI) as helping to drive the next great economic expansion, a fear of missing out is spreading around the globe. Numerous nations have developed AI strategies to advance their capabilities, through investment, incentives, talent development, and risk management. As AI’s importance to the next generation of technology grows, many leaders are worried that they will be left behind and not share in the gains.

    Learn More

    ​Read the press release on Deloitte.com

    Browse the AI & cognitive technologies collection

    Subscribe to receive analytics content

    We aimed to measure the global pulse of AI through our State of AI in the Enterprise, 2nd Edition survey, which you can explore in more detail in the full-length article Future in the balance?

    In analyzing this year’s survey results, we uncovered four key insights from companies that are early adopters of AI (prototyping or implementing AI solutions) in seven countries:

    There is a growing realization of AI’s importance, including its ability to provide competitive advantage and change work for the better. A majority of global early adopters say that AI technologies are especially important to their business success today—a belief that is increasing. A majority also say they are using AI technologies to move ahead of their competition, and that AI empowers their workforce.

    AI success depends on getting execution right. Organizations often must excel at a wide range of practices to ensure AI success, including developing a strategy, pursuing the right use cases, building a data foundation, and cultivating a strong ability to experiment. These capabilities are critical now because, as AI becomes even easier to consume, the window for competitive differentiation will likely shrink.

    Early adopters from different countries display varying levels of AI maturity. Enthusiasm and experience vary among early adopters from different countries. Some are pursuing AI vigorously, while others are taking a more cautious approach. In some cases, adopters are employing AI to improve specific processes and products; others are harnessing AI to transform their entire organization.

    Regardless of countries’ AI maturity level, we can learn from their approaches. By examining countries’ challenges and how companies are addressing them, we can glean some essential leading practices. For example, leaders in some countries are more concerned about addressing skill gaps. Others are focusing on how AI can improve decision-making or cybersecurity capabilities.

    There are many paths to AI excellence, and success is not a winner-takes-all proposition. Examining early AI adopters through a global lens can enable a broader perspective. By doing so, leaders can take a more balanced approach on their AI-powered journey.

    AI advantage is not a zero-sum game

    In the coming years, AI technology will exert an enormous impact on economic development and the nature of work. It will also radically reshape the competitive dynamics of many industries. Because of this, many leaders believe that their countries’ futures hang in the balance. It is no wonder that governments are rushing to foster AI investment, establish education programs, and pursue research and development to support businesses within their borders.

    In fact, many governments have developed formal AI frameworks to help spur economic and technological growth. These range from the US executive order on AI leadership and China’s “Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan” to “AI Made in Germany” and the “Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy.”1 These strategies focus on talent and education, government investment, research, and collaborative partnerships. But governments face more than technological and economic challenges. Many are assessing how they can ensure privacy, safety, transparency, accountability, and control of AI-enabled systems without curtailing innovation and the potential economic benefits.

    Notwithstanding intense competition among countries and companies, AI shouldn’t be considered a zero-sum game. All adopters can learn from one another, and early success will likely depend on getting execution right—from choosing the right use cases, to preparing the workforce, to managing risks and challenges.

    To better understand how early-adopter companies are navigating their AI journey and how they are beginning to transform, we surveyed 1,900 executives from around the world. We also wanted to explore how AI is affecting their businesses—and whether there are distinct differences in how various countries are advancing their AI efforts.

    Comparing AI adopters around the world

    Do AI adopters from different countries vary in their practices? Are they just experimenting with AI, or using it to drive broader transformation and competitive advantage? What urgency do they feel amid their competitors’ actions? To answer these questions, we should first check the pulse of the global AI landscape.

    Almost two-thirds of early adopters say that AI technologies are “very” or “critically” important to their business success today, increasing to 81 percent in just two years. In fact, four in 10 believe that AI will be critically important within two years. Much like the governments of the countries in which they operate, a growing number of organizations have strong feelings that AI will be essential to leading in the future. These adopters are using a variety of AI technologies, including machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, and computer vision.

    And there are indications that the window for competitive differentiation with AI is rapidly closing. As AI technologies become easier to consume and get embedded in an increasing number of products and services, early-mover advantage will rapidly diminish. A majority (57 percent) believe that AI technology will substantially transform their company within the next three years (figure 1). However, only 38 percent think AI will transform their industry in the same time frame. The perceived slower industry shift may represent a small window of opportunity. Early adopters may be wise not to underestimate their competition. 

    Much hangs in the balance—including the future competitiveness of companies and even whole countries. By combining enthusiasm with a balanced approach to AI goals and execution, companies (and countries) may find success. 

    The window for competitive differentiation with AI is quickly closing

    We invite you to further explore our survey results in the full-length article Future in the balance?

    Acknowledgments

    The authors would like to thank Sayantani Mazumder for her invaluable data analysis efforts and support creating this report. We would also like to thank practitioners from the various member firms and country teams we worked with for their insight and guidance, including Julie Barrett, Anne Bowker, William Chou, Roger Chung, Keshia Claxton, Mathieu Colas, Chaanah Crichton, Ralf Esser, Elodie Fernandez, Paul Jackson, Bilal Jaffery, Tyanne Kamping, Hayley Kelly, Rhita Kohen, Steve McMullen, Sabrina Melic, Gareth Nicholls, Joanna Spiette, Mathieu Zeinel, and Lisa Zhou. Finally, we thank Christine Brodeur, Kristine Sevilla, and Jeanette Watson for contributing thoughtful suggestions to our work and Mic Locker and Karthik Ramachandran for their continued counsel.

    Cover image by: Kevin Weier

    Endnotes
      1. Donald J. Trump, “Executive order on maintaining American leadership in artificial intelligence,” White House, February 11, 2019; CIFAR, “CIFAR Pan-Canadian artificial intelligence strategy,” accessed April 16, 2019; Gov.cn, “A new generation artificial intelligence development plan,” July 2017; Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, “AI—a brand for Germany,” November 15, 2018; Tim Dutton, “An overview of national AI strategies,” Medium, June 28, 2018. View in article

    Show moreShow less

    Topics in this article

    Technology Management , Emerging technologies , Artificial intelligence (AI) , Cognitive technologies

    Deloitte Analytics

    Many of the world's leading businesses count on us to deliver powerful outcomes, not just insights, for their toughest challenges. Fast. Our analytics practice is built around the wide range of needs our clients bring to us. Data scientists, data architects, business and domain specialists who bring a wealth of business-specific knowledge, visualization and design specialists, and of course technology and application engineers. We deploy this deep talent all over the world, at scale.

    Learn more
    Get in touch
    Contact
    • Jeff Loucks
    • Executive director, Deloitte Center for Technology, Media & Telecommunications
    • Deloitte Services LP
    • jloucks@deloitte.com
    • +1 614 477 0407
    Download Subscribe

    Related content

    img Trending

    Interactive 3 days ago

    More in AI & Cognitive technologies

    • How experienced TMT organizations are navigating AI Article4 years ago
    • Becoming an AI-fueled organization Interactive1 year ago
    • The rise of cognitive work (re)design: Applying cognitive tools to knowledge-based work Article5 years ago
    • Artificial intelligence in government Collection
    • Cognitive technologies: A technical primer Article5 years ago
    • Cognitive technologies in the technology sector Article7 years ago
    Jeff Loucks

    Jeff Loucks

    Executive Director | Center for TMT

    Jeff Loucks is the executive director of Deloitte's Center for Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Deloitte Services LP. In his role, he conducts research and writes on topics that help companies capitalize on technological change. An award-winning thought leader in digital business model transformation, Jeff is especially interested in the strategies organizations use to adapt to accelerating change. Jeff’s academic background complements his technology expertise. Jeff has a Bachelor of Arts in political science from The Ohio State University, and a Master of Arts and PhD in political science from the University of Toronto.

    • jloucks@deloitte.com
    • +1 614 477 0407
    Susanne Hupfer

    Susanne Hupfer

    Research Manager | Deloitte

    Susanne Hupfer is a research manager in Deloitte’s Center for Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Deloitte Services LP, specializing in the technology sector. She conducts research to understand the impact of technology trends on enterprises and to deliver actionable insights to business and IT leaders. Prior to joining Deloitte, Hupfer worked for more than 20 years in the technology industry, in roles that included software research and development, strategy consulting, and thought leadership. She has a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and computer science from Trinity College and a Ph.D. in computer science from Yale University.

    • shupfer@deloitte.com
    David Jarvis

    David Jarvis

    David is a senior research manager in Deloitte’s Center for Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Deloitte Services LP. He has more than 15 years of experience in the technology industry and is a passionate expert and educator focused on emerging business and technology issues—including the potential impacts of longer-term change across our digital society.

    • davjarvis@deloitte.com
    • +1 617 437 2862
    Timothy Murphy

    Timothy Murphy

    Director of Research and Insights

    Timothy is the director of research and insights for Deloitte’s CMO Program. As a researcher and analytical scientist with Deloitte Services LP, he focuses on emerging marketing trends and CMO dynamics within the C-suite.

    • timurphy@deloitte.com
    • +1 414 977 2252

    Share article highlights

    See something interesting? Simply select text and choose how to share it:

    Email a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
    Copy a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
    Copy your highlighted text.

    Future in the balance? How countries are pursuing an AI advantage has been saved

    Future in the balance? How countries are pursuing an AI advantage has been removed

    An Article Titled Future in the balance? How countries are pursuing an AI advantage already exists in Saved items

    Invalid special characters found 
    Forgot password

    To stay logged in, change your functional cookie settings.

    OR

    Social login not available on Microsoft Edge browser at this time.

    Connect Accounts

    Connect your social accounts

    This is the first time you have logged in with a social network.

    You have previously logged in with a different account. To link your accounts, please re-authenticate.

    Log in with an existing social network:

    To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

    OR

    Log in with an existing site account:

    To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

    Forgot password

    Subscribe

    to receive more business insights, analysis, and perspectives from Deloitte Insights
    ✓ Link copied to clipboard
    • Contact us
    • Search jobs
    • Submit RFP
    • Subscribe to Deloitte Insights
    Follow Deloitte Insights:
    Global office directory US office locations
    US-EN Location: United States-English  
    About Deloitte
    • About Deloitte
    • Client stories
    • My Deloitte
    • Deloitte Insights
    • Email subscriptions
    • Press releases
    • Submit RFP
    • US office locations
    • Alumni
    • Global office directory
    • Newsroom
    • Dbriefs webcasts
    • Contact us
    Services
    • Tax
    • Consulting
    • Audit & Assurance
    • Deloitte Private
    • M&A and Restructuring
    • Risk & Financial Advisory
    • AI & Analytics
    • Cloud
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    Industries
    • Consumer
    • Energy, Resources & Industrials
    • Financial Services
    • Government & Public Services
    • Life Sciences & Health Care
    • Technology, Media & Telecommunications
    Careers
    • Careers
    • Students
    • Experienced Professionals
    • Job Search
    • Life at Deloitte
    • Alumni Relations
    • About Deloitte
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy
    • Privacy Shield
    • Cookies
    • Cookie Settings
    • Legal Information for Job Seekers
    • Labor Condition Applications
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information

    © 2023. See Terms of Use for more information.

    Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the "Deloitte" name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms.

    Learn more about Deloitte's work for the US Olympic Committee