Just a fifth of IT professionals say they fully understand how AI tools work

The majority of IT professionals believe AI would make their lives easier, but most are not using it yet.

  • Wednesday, 13th December 2023 Posted 1 year ago in by Phil Alsop

Despite artificial intelligence (AI) hitting new heights in 2023, only a fifth (22%) of surveyed IT professionals can say they fully understand how AI tools work – according to new research from SolarWinds.

The research, based on a survey of 267 IT professionals, highlights this lack of understanding could be fuelling a disconnect between the perceptions and the reality of AI tool usage.

While over half (55%) of IT professionals surveyed believe that AI tools will make their jobs easier, and most (90%) believe their colleagues would embrace such tools, the majority (62%) are not currently using AI day to day.

Of those who are already taking advantage of AI tools, the findings show that their usage is limited to more basic functions than might be expected. Information gathering and research is the most common use – with over a quarter (28%) using it for this purpose. In a similar vein, 18% use AI tools to help explain complex topics to non-technical colleagues.

A further 14% use AI tools to create documents for internal use, but that number falls to less than one in 10 (9%) when creating documents for external use.

When it comes to more technical capabilities, however, just 16% of those who use AI tools do so to write code. While a tiny 6% use AI to identify flaws and security vulnerabilities in code, this signals it might not all be down to limited understanding – lack of confidence in AI tools, or company guidelines, may also be limiting the use of AI for more complex tasks.

SolarWinds Tech Evangelist Sascha Giese, commented on the findings: “AI has the potential to transform the lives of IT professionals – and many are aware of this. So it might come as a surprise that the majority aren't using any AI tools to assist with their job.

“Clearly, there is still a general sense of mystery surrounding AI tools, even from those in more technical roles. Therefore, if businesses want to reap the efficiency rewards AI has to offer and channel savings into innovation, they must invest in education and training. Only with a clear understanding of the inner workings of AI tools, specific use cases, and best practices will IT teams confidently adopt AI tools in their day-to-day role.

“Going forward, transparency over AI concerns and a collaborative, open discussion between the C-suite and IT teams is the only way to speed up the adoption of these transformative tools.”

Espria and Sophos unite IT and finance leaders for a cyber simulation event on 7th October at Churchill War Rooms.
Westcon-Comstor's latest sustainability report shows significant progress in renewable energy adoption and emission cuts. The company eyes a...
Zyxel Networks introduces a PAYG billing model via its Circle platform, catering to the varying needs of MSPs and SMBs leveraging the Nebula cloud.
Nebula Global Services launches the Nebulab Verified™ Engineer Ecosystem, setting new benchmarks in engineering excellence and trust.
Abzorb launches a Mobile Masterclass to empower UK channel partners to integrate mobile as a core business offering.

Tool sprawl: The quiet culprit behind MSP burnout

Posted 4 weeks ago by Aaron Sandhu
A Heimdal study reveals how the proliferation of security tools overwhelms and exhausts North American MSPs, leading to significant operational...
StorONE's platform allows Storage Guardian to consolidate its infrastructure and boost efficiency, dramatically reducing its data centre footprint.

Securing the future: Navigating hybrid cloud challenges

Posted 1 month ago by Aaron Sandhu
New research indicates organisations face hurdles in securing applications across diverse cloud environments, highlighting a need for unified...