Corporate leaders and investors enthusiastic about AI - but the public isn't so convinced

• Investors have a moderately high level of optimism surrounding AI
• They still have concerns about sustainability and staffing
• Corporate leaders might have to listen to investors more

New Just Capital research found that while most corporate leaders (93%) and investors (80%) predict AI will have a net positive effect on society over the next five years, enthusiasm among the general public (58%) is not quite as high.

Productivity, innovation, profitability, and shareholder returns are some of the areas business leaders and investors expect to see the biggest returns.

However, around half of the public still share concerns over job losses, despite only one in five corporate leaders agreeing.

The public isn't quite as optimistic about AI as enterprises

Regardless of perception, all three groups of respondents agreed that AI safety is a top priority, but to varying degrees. The public fears all risks equally, including a loss of control and the environmental impact of high compute use - but business leaders are mostly concerned with disinformation and malicious use.

As such, members of the public are more likely to want governments to introduce broader regulation across all AI risk areas.

Per the data, investors are the most likely to believe that AI would negatively impact the environment. Only 17% of corporate leaders currently account for sustainability in their AI deployments, with two-fifths (42%) excluding it entirely. Other previous reports have indicated a similar pressure from shareholders to focus on AI's environmental impacts.

With technological changes underway, 90% of the public and 97% of investors agree that AI training for workers is now a critical requirement, but corporations might not always agree.

"Areas of underinvestment or gaps between investor, public, and corporate expectations represent key opportunities for impact, leadership, and competitive differentiation," the researchers concluded.

Data from the report generally shows investor expectations aligning more closely with those of the general public, with companies tending to underperform in terms of allocating sufficient investment to environmental, training and worker support budgets.

Looking ahead then, internal and external pressures may guide companies to tweak their AI strategies, and the companies most likely to stand out will be those that respond to those pressures.

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