Asia-Pacific Predicted to Become the Global Hub of Artificial Intelligence Innovation

Global Study Reveals Businesses in Asia-Pacific adopting advanced AI faster than Europe and North America

Hong Kong, June 5, 2019 – Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) conjures up many things for today’s enterprises - futuristic images, hype, fear. The march of AI is a global phenomenon and, as a new study reveals, businesses in the Asia-Pacific region are adopting advanced AI faster than companies in the rest of the world.

To better understand where AI technology is headed and how business leaders will apply it in the immediate future, global consulting firm, Protiviti, and ESI ThoughtLab have conducted a global research study of senior executives across functions, industries and company sizes to see where advanced AI stands today, what executives are planning for, and what they expect to happen in the next two years.

Asia-Pacific is Ahead on AI

Asia-Pacific companies are top when it comes to driving business improvements with AI technology, with 35 percent reporting that advanced AI is currently providing ‘significant value’ to their business, compared to 14 percent of companies in North America and just 7 percent of companies in EMEA.

When it comes to the adoption of AI, businesses across the Asia-Pacific region are already ahead of or equal to the rest of the world. Among companies in the region, 22 percent are at advanced stages of machine learning against just 7 percent in Europe and 11 percent in North America.

The survey also shows that 43 percent of Asia-Pacific firms see AI as important to their business’s future, versus 33 percent of firms in North America and just 18 percent in Europe. Asia-Pacific also has the highest concentration (48 percent) of businesses reporting that their use of AI is far ahead of their competitors.

AI is Already Creating Business Value

This adoption of AI is already triggering productivity gains in the region. Nearly all APAC organizations achieved productivity gains of 4 to 6 percent in the past year from the use of advanced AI compared with just 28 percent of companies globally.

“AI will redefine the very nature of business. As we are already seeing in APAC, the promise of increased business value and greater global economic impact has led companies to recognize its importance and start using it to find innovative solutions to their strategic business challenges,” comments Adam Johnston, Managing Director for Protiviti in Hong Kong. “Part of the reason APAC is moving ahead is in part thanks to the broad support of AI at a government level in the region. For example, the Chinese government is making AI leadership a national imperative with the aim of putting the country on the path to be the world’s AI leader by 2030.”

Today, only a small minority of companies (16 percent) are gaining significant value from advanced AI. But within two years that number is expected to leap more than three-fold to a majority of firms worldwide.

Despite these different stages of progress, globally the majority of businesses recognize the value of advanced AI, with 66% of APAC and 64% non-APAC respondents viewing it as important to the future of their business. When it comes to the challenges of implementing advanced AI, these are the same across markets, with financial & regulatory, technological, organizational/attitudinal issues coming out on top.

Global Investments in AI

Around the world, companies are putting substantial investment behind their AI efforts. In the last fiscal year, businesses spent an average of $36 million, and they plan to boost their spending by nearly 10 percent over the next two years. Healthcare and technology companies are moving the fastest when it comes to AI, while financial services and consumer products organizations are picking up the pace but are moving ahead a bit more slowly.

“AI is not solely the domain of ‘born digital’ companies; it’s for all organizations. Executives are realizing that adoption and significant investment are required to maintain competitiveness in the market. With access to increased data from multiple touch points and powerful computing technologies, identifying the right applications that are relevant and aligned to business goals is the equation that companies are trying to solve,” adds Johnston.

“The most successful AI programs address these challenges by providing decision-makers with compelling proofs of concept and well-planned pilots – that can potentially be scaled to other parts of the organization later. Advanced AI encompasses both technology adoption and business change. There are a huge number of organizations that don't have enough business people who understand advanced AI and can adopt it effectively. The revolution will happen when business and tech people come together with a common understanding of AI and the business it deserves.”

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Notes to the Editor

For the purposes of this study, the term “advanced artificial intelligence (AI)” is an umbrella term for several different technologies that allow computer systems to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition and decision-making.