New York — A recent survey of environmental, health and safety professionals shows that many have been slower than others in their organization to adopt artificial intelligence as a tool.
Researchers from Wolters Kluwer – a provider of professional information, software and services to professionals in various fields – surveyed 162 EHS practitioners. Of those, 62% agreed that “AI adoption in their EHS function was lower than in other areas within the same business,” although 28% reported their EHS program does use AI.
Other findings:
- 49% of the respondents indicated they have “active plans” to invest in AI in the next year, while 13% have no current plans to invest in AI.
- 61% classified themselves as “beginners” when it comes to AI, and 25% indicated they had no experience.
- 38% weren’t sure of their organization’s EHS-related AI investment plans, “suggesting a need for clearer communication regarding available AI tools, technology budgets and investment intentions,” a Wolters Kluwer press release states.
- 77% place some level of importance on AI skills when recruiting, “indicating a dual approach of training and hiring to build AI capabilities.”
- 50% of EHS functions have either received AI training or plan to do so, “highlighting the growing importance of building AI skills.”
“AI promises to revolutionize EHS by enabling leaders to collect data and then interpret, plan, predict and act with unprecedented speed, accuracy and efficiency,” Richard Pulliam, senior vice president and general manager of Wolters Kluwer EHS & ESG, said in the release.
