Three-quarters of workers struggle to harness AI efficiencies

The latest news in artificial intelligence (AI) including research, releases and industry partnerships. 

This week features:

• Businesses face stark AI adoption disconnects
• Telcos reap rewards of AI investment
• McDonald’s seeks director of AI engineering
• Blair Institute calls for “global talent AI visa”
• Open-Source AI Foundation launches to drive transparency and accountability
• AI & Partners publishes General-Purpose AI Code of Practice

Businesses face stark AI adoption disconnects

Three-quarters of workers (75 percent) struggle to harness AI efficiencies with enterprises wasting over US$100 million on underused technology. That’s according to new research from digital adoption company WalkMe.

The State of Digital Adoption 2025 report focuses on AI adoption in the enterprise – highlighting alarming disconnects. While 79 percent of executives are confident about meeting their AI transformation goals, only 28 percent of employees feel adequately trained, with just 25 percent able to use AI to work more efficiently. 

“WalkMe’s research highlights a clear need for organizations to bridge the AI adoption gap,” said Andrea Lippin, managing director, talent and organization at Accenture. “The report showed that AI has sparked 93 percent of enterprises to reevaluate key parts of their digital organization, including IT infrastructure, software applications and talent to unlock the benefits of AI.”

Watch Andreas Welsch, author of the AI Leadership Handbook, discuss the future of AI

Telcos reap rewards of AI investment

In contrast, AI is helping more than 80 percent of telecommunications firms increase annual revenue, according to NVIDIA’s latest State of AI in Telecommunications survey. NVIDIA polled more than 450 telecommunications professionals worldwide, revealing continued momentum for AI adoption – including growth in generative AI use cases – and how the technology is helping optimize customer experiences and increase employee productivity.

NVIDIA found that AI has helped to reduce annual operating costs for 77 percent of telcos, with 60 percent of respondents citing increased employee productivity as their biggest benefit from AI. What’s more, 44 percent of those polled are investing in AI for customer experience optimization, the number one areas of investment for AI in telecommunications, with 40 percent deploying AI into their network planning and operations.

Learn more about AI investment in the PEX Report 2025

McDonald’s seeks director of AI engineering

Fast food giant McDonald’s is recruiting a new director of AI engineering to lead strategic AI and generative AI initiatives that will transform the organization. The successful candidate will be responsible for heading up an engineering team that builds AI and generative AI products, components and prototypes, according to the job description. “You will need to foster a culture of innovation and ensure ongoing alignment of initiatives with evolving business strategies, at a global level,” it added. Based in Chicago, Illinois, the role offers an expected salary of $168,350 to $218,860.

Watch Lee Bogner, global AI and generative AI chief enterprise architect at Mars Inc., discuss outline the importance of data in AI

Blair Institute calls for “global talent AI visa”

The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change called for the creation of a “global talent AI visa” to attract top researchers and engineers to the UK, strengthening its position in high-value research and innovation.

In a new report, the former Prime Minister’s institute claimed that the UK’s immigration system for high-skilled workers remains a formidable barrier to securing world-class AI talent. “AI engineers and researchers are among the most sought-after professionals globally, with many countries actively reshaping their visa policies to attract them. Visa reform is essential for the UK to find its place at the forefront of the current AI-enabled scientific revolution.”

The report urged the UK government to establish an AI-focused visa that is exempt from the immigration health surcharge, allowing flexibility for recipients to change roles, establish spinout companies and move between academia and industry.

Watch Lisa Williams, global operations talent strategy and employee experience director at Dow, disuss the move to a skills-first workforce

Open-Source AI Foundation launches to drive transparency and accountability

The Open-Source AI Foundation (O-SAIF) launched to advocate for transparency and accountability in AI systems used by civilian government agencies. The organization is sounding the alarm and calling for an end to closed-source AI contracts with civilian agencies, arguing that open-source AI ensures public auditability, enhances security and prevents wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars. 

O-SAIF will be launching a $10 million campaign to educate lawmakers, policymakers and citizens about the importance of open-source AI. “All closed-source AI contracts with civilian agencies should be terminated immediately,” said Joe Merrill, CEO of OpenTeams “Government AI should be built openly, with transparency and auditability at its core. This allows the models and training to be publicly scrutinized and verified.”

AI will soon surpass human coding capabilities and giving closed AI systems access to government systems without transparency in data usage is a serious mistake, added Brittany Kaiser, O-SAIF chairwoman. “If we don't ensure auditability now, we risk dire consequences for taxpayers and society.”

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AI & Partners publishes General-Purpose AI Code of Practice

AI & Partners released General-Purpose AI Code of Practice: Commitment Areas, a report exploring the governance, transparency and risk mitigation commitments required under the European Commission’s EU AI Act.

With the EU AI Act reshaping AI regulation, general-purpose AI providers must navigate complex compliance requirements. The report provides insights into:

• The responsibilities of upstream model providers and downstream AI users.
• How compliance will be enforced, including transparency obligations, risk assessment frameworks and cyber security safeguards.
• Implications for open-source AI copyright compliance and regulatory enforcement.

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