Even the CEOs are worried about AI now
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Fortune 500 CEOs ranked AI and "new technology" as the top risk to their industry, in a survey out Thursday morning.
Why it matters: It's a little surprising, given that many CEOs have been ride-or-die on the new technology.
The big picture: AI is roiling the markets and companies to a degree that is shaking up even the companies believed to be on the right side of history.
- For example, OpenAI investor Microsoft's stock is down 15% this year, while hyperscaler Amazon is down 7%. (Both rallied a bit yesterday in the glow of Nvidia.)
State of play: Your business can now get knocked off its axis by all manner of doomsday content. A viral report, a post on X or even an announcement from a former karaoke company turned trucking firm can send a stock a tumblin'.
Zoom in: AI or new technology was identified as a top concern by 60% of the 142 CEOs surveyed in early February by the Conference Board, a nonpartisan think tank, and the Business Council, an association of CEOs.
- It ranked third the previous quarter. At the end of 2025, geopolitical risk was the top concern (59%), followed by "cyber" (56%) and AI (53%).
- Since the Conference Board started asking CEOs about AI in 2024, this marks the first time the technology topped the list.
Zoom out: The survey, conducted quarterly, is closely watched for its gauge of confidence among business leaders.
Reality check: AI isn't making the CEOs feel that bad, to be sure.
- CEO confidence overall jumped into positive territory from the previous quarter, rising 11 points to a score of 59 (anything above 50 is positive).
- The increase mirrored a similar uptick among consumers, according to a separate Conference Board measure out earlier this week.
Friction point: "Confidence" is a squishy category.
- For years, there was a link between how everyday Americans felt about the economy and their actual economic behavior. Greater confidence would translate to more spending, and was a leading indicator.
- Recently, that connection has broken down.
Case in point: For CEOs, confidence still matters. Those vibes are important when it comes to hiring and spending decisions that leaders make.
Where it stands: The increase in confidence in the first quarter appears to line up with more spending plans for companies.
- "Along with a rebound in confidence, businesses' investment continued to firm up in Q1, with more than a third of CEOs expecting to revise capital spending plans upward in the next 12 months," Roger W. Ferguson Jr., vice chairman of the Business Council, said in a release Thursday.
The intrigue: Confidence doesn't seem to be translating to more hiring.
- The share of CEOs planning to increase the size of their workforce over the next 12 months slipped at the start of the year.
- Still, the share of the leaders expecting to cut jobs also declined, another sign that we're in a low-hire, low-fire moment.
The bottom line: Even AI's biggest boosters can't escape the growing sense of anxiety around the new technology.
