Finding value from AI in big companies comes down to people, not technology

The Fortune AIQ Summit, held in New York, brought together executives from Fortune 500 companies to discuss how they are successfully implementing AI at scale. A recurring theme was the crucial role of people in driving AI success, rather than the technology itself. According to ServiceNow's Enterprise AI Maturity Index, 57% of companies scoring in the top fifth for AI adoption are investing in upskilling their employees on AI, compared to just 4% of those not in the top bracket.

This focus on people was evident throughout the event, with futurist Amy Webb noting that many large companies struggle to see returns on AI investments because they aren't investing in training employees to use the technology effectively. Adaptability and flexibility were also highlighted as crucial human skills for the AI era, with speakers emphasizing the importance of unlearning outdated ways of thinking to make space for new approaches.

Despite concerns about AI causing "bad things," executives at the summit were more focused on deploying AI successfully and bypassed governance concerns that often hindered implementation. The fear of a SaaS market collapse, which was prominent earlier in the year, turned out to be overstated, with AI startups like Runway still utilizing off-the-shelf SaaS vendors for various functions.