Optimistic view of AI development among Swedish business leaders

Today, TechSverige presents a Demoskop survey with responses from 600 business leaders on their attitude to AI. The results show that the majority of entrepreneurs believe that AI will increase efficiency and have a positive impact on competitiveness. Those who have started the AI journey see the positive effects and plan more AI investments.

Six out of ten say that AI will have a positive impact on competitiveness, which is a technology optimism and willingness to change for political parties to take on board. A quarter of business leaders believe that AI could lead to risks for their business, such as increased competition, with SMEs struggling to keep up due to a lack of resources.

Skills need to be raised
Swedish business leaders generally consider that the knowledge of AI among the management of their companies is low, especially among SMEs. It is mainly the larger companies that have gotten started and integrated AI, while the smaller ones are unsure of their needs and feel they lack sufficient knowledge to invest properly.

The importance of getting started
Companies with medium or high AI knowledge, which have already started the introduction of AI, experience predominantly positive effects and plan more AI investments. Conversely, the group with lower AI knowledge is more cautious about the technology. This underlines the importance of embarking on the AI journey, showing courage and curiosity to maximize benefits and strengthen competitiveness.

Competition-neutral rules and policy ambiguity
A clear majority of business leaders want to see competition-neutral global rules on technology use and availability. One in two respondents do not know what the political view on AI is, which is a worrying signal of ambiguity and low political priority on the issue.

Facts about the survey
Method: Web interviews
Target group: Managers of Swedish companies with more than 20 employees
Number of interviews: 598
Field period: 26 Sep-22 Oct 2023