Scottish public sector organisations are more likely to have an AI strategy in place compared to the private sector, according to a new survey.
Research from recruitment firm Livingston James and EY revealed 71% of organisations are regularly discussing AI at board level, but only 36% actually have a strategy in place.
It showed a slightly higher number of public sector bodies (44%) have one in place compared to 38% and 26% in the private and third sectors, respectively.
The survey, based on interviews with more than 200 C-suite executives across the public, private, and third sectors, also revealed, also revealed a lack of clarity over who should lead AI initiatives could be contributing to the lack of strategy.
While 46% of those surveyed said their technology function has overall responsibility for AI strategy, other responses were more varied.
Respondents said operations or finance were responsible for AI in 16% and 12% of cases, respectively, but 8% have not assigned the technology to anyone, commenting on a lack of workforce planning and measurement frameworks.
Another 6% said there was shared responsibility among senior management, across all business areas, or teams managed their own adoption.
Perhaps surprisingly, micro organisations – those with fewer than 10 employees – were most likely to have an AI strategy, at 59%. This was followed by 37% of large organisations, and 33% and 28% for medium and small-sized organisations respectively.
Ali Shaw, director at Livingston James, said: “The results from our Investigating the Future CEO report reflect what is happening more widely in society – lots of people are talking about AI, but fewer are certain about how they should actually use it in the right way. For CEOs and other senior executives it could be the defining technology of the years ahead, and it’s imperative that they embrace that opportunity by implementing it in the best way possible within their organisations.
“Given that responsibility lies predominantly with other functions – and, worryingly, in some cases with no one – CEOs will need to ensure that they have the right people around them to make the most of the opportunities AI presents. That could mean involving senior tech executives more in areas like succession planning so that future leadership teams have the right level of technological knowhow to prepare for the big changes ahead.”
Cara Heaney, people advisory services and managed services leader at EY Scotland, added: “Scottish leaders are clearly energised by the potential of AI, but turning ambition into action now requires a shift from discussion to disciplined execution. Our experience with clients shows that progress accelerates when leaders treat AI as a strategic capability.
“What’s equally important is building confidence and fluency across the workforce. While the public are using AI enthusiastically in their personal lives, adoption at work still lags.”
