Even the CEOs are worried about AI now
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.

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.
