IT leaders worry the rush to adopt Gen AI may have tech infrastructure repercussions

Even as they face growing pressure to adopt generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), IT decision-makers are concerned scurrying to adopt the technology may have a long-term adverse impact on their company's overall infrastructure. 

As it is, 69% of IT decision-makers said their current network infrastructure did not have the capacity to leverage Gen AI to its full potential, as revealed in a study released by the network services platform, Console Connect. Another 76% believed rushing to adopt the technology may have long-term repercussions on their IT infrastructure planning, according to the report, which surveyed 1,000 CTOs and senior IT leaders in Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, the UK, and the US.  

Despite the apprehension, 76% said their IT teams faced increasing pressure to adopt Gen AI tools within their organizations.

Also: 5 ways to prepare for the impact of generative AI on the IT profession

Some 88% of those who had yet to tap the technology said they planned to do so in the near future. 

When asked about their concerns with using Gen AI, 70% pointed to the risk of cyberattacks or data breaches. The study also found that this figure was highest in Australia at 90%.  

Across the board, 41% cited cybersecurity risks as a key barrier to immediate adoption, while 39% highlighted the lack of IT expertise or skills. 

Also: Automation driving AI adoption, but lack of right skillsets slowing down returns

Respondents in Singapore showed more caution compared to their peers, with 82% in the Asian market noting that the rush to adopt Gen AI will have long-term repercussions on their organization's technology infrastructure planning. 

Some 81% in Singapore also believed their network infrastructure did not have the capacity to leverage Gen AI to its full potential, although 89% already had included the technology in their roadmap. Another 80% felt their IT teams faced growing pressure to deploy Gen AI within their organization. 

"The rapid development of Gen AI creates a demand on networks that we have not seen before," said Console Connect CTO Paul Gampe." As CTOs and senior IT leaders adopt Gen AI tools within their organization, they need to consider the short- and long-term implications of moving larger volumes of sensitive data to and between private and public clouds."

Also: AI is changing cybersecurity and businesses must wake up to the threat

In fact, a lack of clarity in Gen AI strategy was cited as the top challenge for early adopters of the technology, revealed a separate study from SAS, which polled 1,600 decision-makers of Gen AI or data analytics implementation in their organization. Some 90% of respondents acknowledged they did not fully understand Gen AI and its impact on business processes, the report noted. 

Among those that had deployed Gen AI, 75% expressed concerns about data privacy while 75% were worried about data security. Just 5% said they had implemented a reliable system to measure bias and privacy risks in large language models (LLMs), the SAS study found. Undeterred, though, 75% of organizations in the survey said they had dedicated budgets for Gen AI in the next financial year.