New Gartner Survey: Only Half of AI Models Enter Production

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Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are widely adopted by organizations, although many challenges remain, although the challenges may not match what many think.

In many aspects of IT and AI, the lack of skilled IT professionals is often cited as a barrier to adoption. According to a new survey released by Gartner today, the lack of AI talent really isn't a problem. A full 72% of organizations surveyed said they could find or already have the AI ​​talent they need.

Everyone builds AI models, but production is harder

While lack of talent isn't an issue, moving from pilot to production certainly is. Gartner's survey identified a stubborn gap between the number of AI models being developed by organizations and the actual number going into production.

The survey found that on average, only 54% of AI models move from pilot to production. This figure is just nominally higher than the 53% often quoted by Gartner in a 2020 survey.

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"The biggest surprise was the sheer number of organizations that reported deploying thousands of AI models, coupled with the fact that only 54% of them are in production, and many [indicating] that they haven't aligned with business value," Frances Karamouzis, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, told VentureBeat.

What needs to be done to get more AI projects from pilot to production? Karamouzis said the one-word answer is discipline.

Organizations need to take a disciplined approach to aligning on value, ensuring the right talent is in place, and ensuring critical areas of AI trust and security, she says. are properly implemented.

Governance remains a challenge

The Gartner study also found that 40% of organizations have deployed thousands of AI models, and that volume makes it difficult to govern and track the value and ROI of AI.

The challenge of lack of AI governance was identified in other surveys published in 2022. A global research project by Juniper Networks and Wakefield Research published on June 15 found that lack of policy maturity of AI governance was a barrier to further adoption. . The Wakefield Research report, however, also found a lack of talent to be an issue, which Gartner does not find.

An April 2022 report from O'Reilly Media also found that governance was a challenge for AI adoption, with 51% of organizations lacking some form of governance plan for AI. AI projects.

The intersection of security, privacy and AI

Security was also not identified as a top barrier to adoption by respondents to the Gartner survey. Only 3% of respondents cited security as a top barrier, with the top barriers identified as the ability to measure value, a lack of understanding of the benefits and uses of AI, and data accessibility.