Alexander Sukharevsky
McKinsey commentary
Senior partner
We know that AI high performers—respondents who say their organizations are deriving higher impact from their use of AI—tend to have more ambitious agendas than their peers. Interestingly, they are also more likely than their peers to report more, rather than fewer, negative consequences from AI use. This isn’t as counterintuitive as it might seem. After all, because they are more ambitious, AI high performers are likely to be using the technology in mission-critical contexts that require sensitive monitoring. They also report mitigating these risks at a higher rate than others, given that they are aware of them. Their ambition also has considerable upside: It helps explain why these organizations tend to outperform—and offers an important lesson to those who are still struggling to realize value from their AI efforts. Approaching AI solely through the lens of efficiency, our survey suggests, is not enough. Achieving measurable results requires leaders to pursue a bold agenda, driven by innovation and transformation. That, we are learning, may be the true pathway to high performance.