More than half of Fortune 500 companies cited artificial intelligence as a potential risk factor for their business, according to a survey of annual financial reports by research platform Arize AI.
56% of the largest US companies view AI as a potential risk, a significant jump from only 10% in 2022.
In comparison, only 31% of the 108 companies that explicitly mentioned generative AI in their annual reports listed its benefits or use outside the risk factors section.
Since 2022, the number of Fortune 500 companies citing AI as a risk factor in their annual reports has increased by 473.5%.
Looking at AI risk disclosure by industry, a staggering 91.7% of advertising, media and entertainment companies see AI as a risk to their business.
The media giant Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) warned that “the rules governing new technological developments, such as developments in generative artificial intelligence, are still unclear and these developments could impact aspects of our existing business model, including revenue streams for the use of our intellectual property and the way we create our entertainment products.”
86.4% of software and technology companies view AI as a risk. Cloud and business software company Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) stated that “generative AI content creation will require additional investments in licensing or developing proprietary datasets, machine learning models, and systems to test for accuracy, bias, and other variables, which are often complex, can be costly, and could impact our profit margins.”
70% of telecommunications companies cite AI as a risk factor, with telecommunications giant AT&T (NYSE:T) warned that “generative AI models may produce incorrect results or take incorrect actions, reveal private or confidential information, reflect biases inherent in the data used to train them, infringe the intellectual property rights of others, or be otherwise harmful.”
The report shows that the impact of generative AI is being felt in many industries, even those that have not yet embraced the technology.
“Given that AI is mentioned as a risk factor in most cases, there is a real opportunity for companies to stand out by highlighting their innovations and providing context on how they use generative AI,” noted Arize AI.
