Last updated: 01 Oct 2024 11:00 Posted in:
Nearly a third of UK employees who use Generative AI (Gen AI) tools for work pay for it from their own pockets, according to new research from Deloitte.
The study found that 31% of UK employees who use Gen AI for work access publicly available tools they personally pay for, while only a fifth (22%) use in-house Gen AI tools that are either developed by their company or commissioned from third-party developers. Nearly half (48%) of the UK employees who use the technology report using free publicly available Gen AI tools.
Almost one in five Gen AI users (17%) think that ‘a great deal’ of employees in the UK use Gen AI without their employer’s explicit approval, and an additional 45% of users believe that ‘a fair amount’ of employees in the UK do this. When asked about the main reasons for this, 40% believe that employees do not see any risks in doing so, while 31% think employees doubt that the company can check anyway.
Lorraine Barnes, Deloitte’s UK Gen AI lead, said: “UK workers are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to keeping up to speed with the latest Gen AI advances. With employees paying for the privilege of using the latest Gen AI tools off their own back, it’s clear that there is a need for organisations to invest in their own Gen AI solutions.”
In a separate survey for the Deloitte AI Institute, the Big 4 firm found that data and risk remain key challenges to scaling generative Gen AI.
It found that three of the top four reported barriers to successful Gen AI deployment are risk-related, including worries about regulatory compliance (36%); difficulty managing risks (30%); and lack of a governance model (29%). The key drivers of these concerns are risks specific to Gen AI, like model bias, hallucinations (incorrect or misleading results), privacy, trust and cyber attacks.
To help build trust and ensure responsible use, Deloitte said organisations are working to build new guardrails and oversight capabilities. The top actions organisations are taking include establishing a governance framework for using Gen AI tools and applications (51%); monitoring regulatory requirements and ensuring compliance (49%); and conducting internal audits/testing on Gen AI tools and applications (43%).
"With employees paying for the privilege of using the latest Gen AI tools off their own back, it’s clear that there is a need for organisations to invest in their own Gen AI solutions.”
Lorraine Barnes, AI Lead Partner, Deloitte UK