‘Excited, cautious, optimistic, patient:’ CEOs at Davos have mixed feelings about the rise of AI

Good morning.

Global CEOs are more optimistic about the economy than they were a year ago, but less optimistic about their company’s ability to survive the next decade. That’s my takeaway from PwC’s annual CEO survey, which covers nearly 5,000 CEOs around the world. The CEOs are remarkably sanguine about the near term, with 38% expecting the economy to improve, up from just 18% who said the same a year ago. But their sense of impending business disruption is also on the rise, with 45% saying that if their “company continues running on its current path,” it won’t be viable a decade from now. That’s up from 39% last year.

I caught up with PwC global chair Bob Moritz here yesterday, and asked him what’s driving the corporate existential angst. His response:

“The No. 1 issue is technology. And I think there are two elements of nuance to that. One, I think there’s the absolute aspect associated with technology and the forces that may come from that. The second piece is, I’m just not sure the CEOs feel as equipped to know what to do with it, and how to maximize the opportunity.”

AI permeates almost every discussion here this week and is the subject of countless company-sponsored sessions up and down the Promenade. I met this morning with BNY Mellon CEO Robin Vince, who talked about how his bank is using generative AI tools to write first drafts of daily research reports. When I asked how he and his clients viewed the potential of AI, he summed it up in four words: “Excited, cautious, optimistic, patient.” The PwC survey shows the same mixed view. CEOs believe AI, and generative AI in particular, could have huge productivity benefits over time. But only a minority—32%—say they have broadly adopted it. And they said they were more likely to increase than decrease headcount over the next 12 months, with 39% expecting increases of 5% or more. View the full survey results here.

I’ll continue on the AI theme for much of this week, moderating sessions for Fortune partners including Builder.ai, C3.ai, and Cognizant. But the big theme today in Davos is geopolitics, with speeches by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and the prime minister of Qatar. More here tomorrow.

Other news below.

Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com