UK CEOs push ahead with AI as European rivals struggle with regulation

Just a quarter (26%) of UK CEOs have reported delaying an AI initiative due to unclear or evolving regulations, compared to over double that number in France (59%). New research conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Universal AI Platform Dataiku shows a large chasm in approaches to AI implementation between UK CEOs and counterparts in the EU, driven primarily by differences in regulations.

The study appears in the newly released “Global AI Confessions Report: CEO Edition”, which saw 500 CEOs of large companies across the UK, France, Germany and the US asked about their approach to AI.

Almost a quarter (23%) of UK CEOs reported having a formal roadmap for AI implementation within the next year, double the global average (12%) and nearly five times the number in Germany (5%). UK CEOs are much more buoyant about pushing ahead with implementing AI quickly, with just 21% cancelling an AI project entirely due to regulatory uncertainty. This is a stark contrast to the AI uncertainty within the EU, where 42% of CEOs in France and 35% in Germany are reporting they have been forced to cancel an AI project due to regulations.

“The market research in our report suggests reduced regulatory uncertainty is giving UK businesses the clarity to act — accelerating innovation and adoption, even as AI evolves at a relentless pace,” said Florian Douetteau, CEO and Co Founder of Dataiku. “Working with our enterprise customers, we have seen firsthand that when CEOs have confidence in compliance and control over governance, they can move faster, scale smarter, and fully capitalise on AI’s potential."

Unburdened by regulatory uncertainty, over two thirds (71%) of UK CEOs report that they have already created a framework for regularly evaluating the data security and privacy of their AI models, compared to just 58% in France, with many EU businesses adopting a “wait and see” approach to AI security based on official regulations.

However, whilst they are less likely to abandon these projects, UK businesses are not immune to the challenges of ensuring AI delivers value; nearly a third (29%) of UK CEOs suspect their ongoing AI initiatives are more about optics than impact, highlighting the ongoing challenge of “AI Washing”.

Jacob Beswick, former UK Assistant Director for AI Adoption and Regulation, and now Senior Director of AI Governance at Dataiku, said: “The EU AI Act has raised more questions than it answered, and in the process has seen businesses within its jurisdiction become increasingly cautious with their AI programmes. Heavier regulations in the EU mean there are more restrictions on what you can and cannot operationalise and put on the market than in the UK, in turn arguably making the UK an attractive market for AI innovators. Whilst regulatory uncertainty is clearly a challenge for European businesses, those without stricter regulations must ensure that they are creating AI products with a purpose and with risk awareness in mind, as opposed to simply doing so because they can.”