Like many other industries, executives and engineers at technology brands and businesses around the world are optimistic about artificial intelligence and sustainability as broad concepts—but new research from hardware manufacturer TE Connectivity finds there is uncertainty around the best path forward to advance these initiatives within their companies.
For its 2024 Industrial Technology Index, the firm’s second annual report on the state of innovation, TE surveyed 1,000 people representing a wide range of industries in China, Germany, India, Japan and the US, discovering high hopes but lack of direction.
“TE has devoted significant resources to sustainability and AI, and we know other companies are doing the same. We wanted to learn more about how these two megatrends are affecting the innovation process and, in turn, how innovation is driving them forward,” said CEO Terrence Curtin, in a news release. “What we found was that the leaders who set a company’s goals and the engineers tasked with meeting these goals still have some work to do to align for success.”
The survey’s results make apparent the disconnect between leaders and engineers when it comes to rolling out artificial intelligence. Three-quarters of executives say that engineers are responsible for driving AI implementation. However, 68 percent of engineers wish that leadership would lay out a clearer plan for its implementation. When asked to peer into the near future, 79 percent of both engineers and executives expect their company to invest more in AI training over the next three years.
When responding to questions about sustainable practices at their companies, most engineers revealed a deep passion for the environment. Eighty-seven percent of engineers agree that it is personally important to them to support climate change solutions in their work. This sentiment is so deeply entrenched in the engineering community that 34 percent said they would leave their job if their company did not provide opportunities to support sustainable initiatives.
Survey data indicates that executives need to do some more work to instill confidence in their engineering communities, as there is a five-point difference between the groups when asked if they were satisfied with their organization’s sustainability plan.
