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Why AI Leadership Goes Hand-In-Hand With AI Spend

Most CEOs realise that AI success is closely aligned with having the right strategic leadership.

<div class="paragraphs"><p>When it comes to AI you can bet every rupee you have that banks and even transport operators are trying hard not to miss the bandwagon.(Photo source:&nbsp;<ins><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/tungnguyen0905-17946924/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=7111802">Tung Nguyen</a></ins> from <ins><a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=7111802">Pixabay</a>)</ins></p></div>
When it comes to AI you can bet every rupee you have that banks and even transport operators are trying hard not to miss the bandwagon.(Photo source: Tung Nguyen from Pixabay)
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We’re perhaps less than a quarter away from the most awaited tech launch of the year—the Apple iPhone 17. A bit before that the much talked-about Google’s flagship Pixel 10 could be revealed. Those who love sporting the latest gadgets jump hoops to get their hands on the newest models within hours or days of release. It’s the perfect gameplan if you like being the cynosure of all eyes.

But enterprises don’t work like that. It’s not that CIOs don’t like to boast about (or be recognised) as pioneers or first-deployers, but CIOs are also aware that being first in deployment means there’s a higher chance of being first affected due to an unforeseen bug or issue. If you’re not in enterprise tech it may surprise you to learn that as of 2023 43% of core banking systems in the US were built on the COBOL programming language. 95% of ATM swipes in the US relied on COBOL. Which just incidentally was a language that was invented in 1959.

To put it into perspective, independent India was a mere 12 years old when COBOL was born. And just in case you’re wondering, Indian banks use systems built on COBOL too, and the programming language is widely used for applications on mainframe computers. Mainframes may seem like a term used for dinosaurs in computing, but they are around, and not just in old PSU banks, but young, nimble private banks too.

Which is why when around a decade ago I glanced a look at the screen of a Mumbai Monorail rake during a joyride—a plane of clear glass separated the monorail operator from passengers—I wasn’t very surprised to see Windows 95 pop up on a start screen. ‘If it’s not broken, don’t fix it’ is the mantra for much mission-critical tech. Though I must admit even I was surprised to read that MS-DOS (released in 1981) and Windows 3.11 (launched in 1993) still power train dashboards on some German trains.

However, when it comes to AI you can bet every rupee you have that banks and even transport operators are trying hard not to miss the bandwagon. No one wants to be an AI laggard because AI can redefine aspects like customer experience. Transactions may be switched on a mainframe computer but AI can help in instantly presenting a customer with easy-to-use data in enticing graphical formats on what their transactions reveal, by deciphering trends and making possible a host of other features.

A new study by the IBM Institute for Business Value speaks of Indian CEOs doubling down on AI investments despite reporting that a mere 25% of AI initiatives met RoI expectations over the last few years, and only 15% have scaled enterprise-wide. But while that is par for the course, what I found interesting is that most CEOs realise that AI success is closely aligned with having the right strategic leadership with the right expertise and authority to move quickly.

An interesting report from NTT Data seems to agree as it reveals that while CEOs and business leaders are committed to gen AI adoption, CISOs and operational leaders are feeling left behind as they lack the necessary guidance and resources to fully address security risks and challenges associated with AI deployments.

Interestingly, the report says that 81% of senior IT security leaders with negative sentiments still agree Gen AI will boost efficiency and impact the bottom-line. Clearly, both the reports point to a clear challenge—building a leadership team to lead AI and ensuring they have all the resources and guidance needed through a clear AI strategy.

Here are some of the other AI-related reads from the past few days, just in case you’ve missed any:

India Emerging As Prime Destination For Data Centre Projects, Chip Manufacturing: Moody's Analytics

Who Is Lisa Su? AMD CEO Taking On Rival Nvidia To Increase Market Share In AI Chips

Lemnisk Unveils AI Innovations To Power Personalised Customer Engagement

Adobe Launches Standalone App For Generating AI Videos, Images

Delayed Siri Update Could Be Launched In March-April 2026: Report

Elon Musk's xAI In Talks To Raise $4.3 Billion In Equity Funding

Till next week,

-Ivor Soans

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