More than a third of European businesses embraced artificial intelligence in 2023, with generative AI leading the surge, according to an AWS-commissioned report. This notable adoption signifies progress towards the Digital Decade goals, as outlined by the European Commission in 2021, with 38% of companies actively experimenting with AI and a positive economic impact estimated at an additional 600 billion euros.
1 February 2024 – In a pivotal shift, over a third of European businesses embraced artificial intelligence (AI) in 2023, with a notable surge in the utilization of generative AI, according to a report commissioned by Amazon Web Services (AWS). The findings indicate a significant advancement compared to 2022, where only a quarter of EU businesses had adopted AI, raising concerns about the region falling behind its Digital Decade goals.
The European Commission’s 2030 Digital Decade vision, unveiled in 2021, aimed at transforming the region by ensuring 80% of the population acquires basic digital skills, achieving ubiquitous 5G connectivity, and having 75% of EU companies utilizing cloud services. However, a report in the previous year highlighted the risk of a ten-year setback in achieving these goals unless there was a concerted effort to address the skills gap.
Tanuja Randery, Managing Director at AWS, emphasized the pivotal role of generative AI in sparking an appetite for experimentation among consumers and businesses across Europe. She stated, “Last year was pivotal; from Malmo to Milan, the accessibility of generative AI created an appetite for experimentation among consumers and businesses.” Randery added that the accelerated uptake of AI in the past year has propelled Europe towards meeting its Digital Decade goals.
The survey, conducted by Strand Partners and encompassing over 16,000 citizens and 14,000 businesses, revealed that 38% of companies are actively experimenting with AI. The report further estimated a positive economic impact of AI, contributing an additional 600 billion euros on top of the earlier estimate of 2.8 trillion euros.
This surge in AI adoption signifies a transformative moment for European businesses, indicating progress towards a digitally empowered future and a positive economic impact driven by the integration of artificial intelligence technologies. – ref: Reuters
