A growing number of business leaders globally are considering relying on artificial intelligence to make organisational decisions for them to relieve them of the challenge of handling massive amounts of data, a new study from Oracle has found.
About 70 per cent of leaders — and 64 per cent of all those surveyed — would prefer to have a robot make the decisions for them as the “situation is so challenging”, the Decision Dilemma report showed.
Enterprises that use technology to make data-driven decisions are likely to have a better reputation, with 79 per cent saying that it made them more trustworthy and potentially more successful, it said.
Respondents believe that they are likely to invest in (76 per cent), partner with (77 per cent) or work for (78 per cent) these companies, the report showed.
“The message is overwhelmingly clear — our current approach to managing and analysing data must change, especially in the business world,” the report said.
“The benefits of getting it right span from attracting talent in a difficult job market, to gaining new investors in a tough economic climate.”
Businesses and workers are handling more data than ever before in an era of digital transformation, in which technology touches practically every part of life.
This has prompted users to seek innovative ways to deal with data and eventual decision making, particularly gravitating towards AI and machine learning.
While these technologies are not new in business, they have significantly gained momentum with the advent of generative AI, made popular by OpenAI's ChatGPT, which can produce various kinds of data, including audio, code, images, text, simulations, 3D objects and videos.
“In theory, the data should help, but in reality, it's having the opposite effect,” the study said.
About 97 per cent of people want help from data, but 86 per cent say the volume of data is making decisions in their personal and professional lives much more complicated, it said.
The influx of data is also hurting business performance, with 91 per cent of leaders claiming that the growing number of data sources has limited the success of their organisations, the study said.
A further 73 per cent admit their lack of trust in data has stopped them from making any decisions at all.
“Having the right type of decision intelligence can make or break the success of an organisation,” the study said.
The message is overwhelmingly clear — our current approach to managing and analysing data must change, especially in the business world
Oracle Decision Dilemma report
In the Arab world's two largest economies, the numbers are higher for business leaders who prefer robots to make decisions, at 78 per cent in Saudi Arabia and 73 per cent in the UAE.
“Business leaders know the right data and insights can be a game changer … when they have the right data and insights, they can make better decisions for human resources, finance, supply chain and customer experience,” the study said.
“Clearly, something’s got to give, and that something is how most organisations currently approach managing and analysing data,” it said.
“What business leaders really need is decision intelligence, connecting data to insight, to decision, to action.”
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."
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