State of Design & Make

Since the introduction of ChatGPT in late 2022, businesses have been racing to tap the potential of artificial intelligence making it a strategic priority across industries. 2024 State of Design & Make survey results underscored this enthusiasm, with 78% of leaders saying that AI would enhance their industry. 
But the reality of AI hasn’t yet lived up to the hype, according to leaders in Design and Make industries. Sentiment toward AI and other emerging technologies is down significantly year over year, with just 69% of business leaders saying AI will enhance their industry—representing a 12% drop from 2024. Industry disruption from AI is also a major concern, with nearly half of leaders now agreeing that AI will destabilize their industry. 
This global drop in sentiment across industries signifies that AI is following the classic tech hype cycle, as leaders face the reality of implementation, an ongoing technical skills shortage, and the limitations of the current technology. 
“When generative AI first appeared, there was an excessive sense of expectation towards generative AI and AI in general, and I think that we have just passed the peak of that,” says Fumihiro Ojima, General Manager, Digital Innovation Department, Value Creation Office, Tokyu Construction Co. Ltd., a civil engineering and building construction company. “There was an impression that generative AI could do anything, but in fact there are things that it is suited to and things that it is not suited to, and I think that we have finally come to understand that.”