Three is the magic number, or more specifically the amount of time in years before a killer app emerges that helps businesses more usefully use generative AI to drive meaingful producitivty gains.
"One of the things that has grabbed CIOs' attention, certainly CEOs' attention, is the idea that generative AI is here. So we have companies that are turning back to IT as a means to help the company grow revenue, but generative AI won't actually be a key component of it. It's really getting systems ready for it."
The problem is that, despite the hype surrounding it, there are few essential applications that need AI. Lovelock said:"We don't see the must-have app emerging in the next three years that's going to force people to go out and buy these AI-enabled devices," Lovelock noted that Microsoft is betting on customers paying for the privilege of GenAI rather than including it in the package.
, believe that AI technologies are fast approaching – or are already at – the trough of disillusionment in terms of user expectations, as companies examine the results of proof of concepts and realize the technology is not something that can boost revenues and productivity overnight. Data needs to be cleaned up, and governance must be considered.
"Generative AI is a thing that has CEOs and CFOs excited about spending on tech. Their need for revenue growth is the reason that they're willing to invest in it. But what the CIO and the rest of the team is going to spend on is mostly not generative AI."Almost every software provider that a CIO deals with is likely to bring out a generative AI product in the next year or so."That's hundreds of options," said Lovelock.