69% of Companies Adopt AI... 90% Stuck on Productivity

A survey of executives at companies in six countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and others) on the state of AI adoption found that only 69% of companies are using AI. More shocking is that 90% of executives at companies that have adopted AI have not experienced productivity gains from it over the past three years. This suggests that although AI technology is advancing, it is not delivering the results expected in real business environments.

An approach that expands and transcends the existing ecosystem, rather than destroying or replacing it, is essential for a successful AI transition.

The first trait of companies that fail at AI adoption is blindly pursuing efficiency alone. If leaders or CEOs simply order "adopt AI" and believe the technology will solve every problem with a single click, failure is almost inevitable. Such complacent thinking leads to viewing AI only as a means of cutting headcount, or pushing adoption forward without understanding the essence of the technology.

The second trait is overlooking the disruptive ecosystem changes brought by technology. Some companies believe that "our field is conservative and analog, so AI cannot come in." In fact, the company may have no direct connection to AI, but the problem arises when competitors create a new ecosystem through 'transcendent inclusion.' Leaders who fail to read such changes can put their companies in crisis.

The third trait is leaders' strategic ignorance. If leaders do not properly understand the concept of 'transcendent inclusion,' they cannot formulate an effective AI strategy. Reckless claims like "Let's adopt AI too" rarely lead to meaningful results. A company whose leader chases AI like a fashion, without genuine curiosity or deep understanding, can never succeed with AI.

Improving individual productivity is important, but not as important as improving productivity at the organizational or national level. No matter how much AI technologies such as ChatGPT or Gemini improve, company-level productivity does not rise because 'transcendent inclusion' is not being properly achieved. This shows that the essence of innovation lies not in excluding existing elements but in evolving by including new ones, and that this is being overlooked.

Innovation premised on the coexistence of humans and technology is needed, and in fact only 5 out of 100 leaders are thinking about ways of successful inclusion.

Rather than threatening a small number of existing industry practitioners, it drew a large number of new creators into the market. This was not about cutting the labor costs of existing experts, but about creating a new ecosystem through the influx of new creators, which then expanded or replaced existing territories. As a result, it succeeded in turning a market centered on a few experts into a market of many creators.

If there is a perception that the roles of department heads or team leads could disappear due to AI, this amounts to a denial of their own existence. The thought that "if I succeed at this task, I will lose my position" undermines motivation at work and makes active cooperation within the organization hard to expect.

To succeed in the AI era, business owners and executives need to embed an AI philosophy into their company's DNA through essential reading such as "How to Work in the AI Era." The book argues that if its philosophy is fully internalized, one can experience unexpectedly explosive results.

Written thoroughly with South Korea in mind, it is highly readable and offers a practical guide that can be applied in the field. Many readers can finish it in a single day, making it easy to approach.