March 12, 2025 – A recent survey released by Dataiku, a leading enterprise AI unicorn, revealed that CEOs are concerned about the potential job loss due to AI. The survey, conducted by a polling company among over 500 CEOs from the UK, US, Germany, and France, showed that a significant number of top executives fear the impact of artificial intelligence on their careers.
The survey participants, leading companies with annual revenues exceeding $500 million and employing more than 500 individuals, included a quarter from the technology sector and the remainder from what Dataiku terms as “non-tech companies.” Notably, 74% of the CEOs admitted that they might lose their jobs within two years if they fail to achieve meaningful AI-driven revenues.
Furthermore, an overwhelming majority of the CEOs, 94%, believed that an AI agent could provide superior business advice compared to human board members. AI has also heightened the CEOs’ concerns about competition. More than 70% of them opined that a fellow CEO might be fired by the end of 2025 due to a failed AI strategy, while 54% indicated that their competitors have already adopted a better AI strategy.
One CEO expressed concerns about the potential lock-in effect of relying on specific AI technologies, stating, “OpenAI is like our brain, but tomorrow Google might launch something, or some other company might. If we fully invest in GPT Enterprise or use Microsoft’s Copilot, we’ll be locked into an ecosystem. We don’t want that!” Another CEO emphasized the need for customization and control, saying, “If we can’t fully customize or manage AI to suit our needs, it feels like we’re letting others decide how our business should run. That’s a risk I can’t accept.”
The survey also highlighted CEOs’ anxiety about AI governance. A staggering 94% of CEOs suspected that employees might be secretly using generative AI tools without official approval. In response to these concerns, Dataiku announced the expansion of governance tools on its platform to assist other companies in managing this technology effectively.
