Business Technology Roundtable

To date, the dominant narrative around artificial intelligence (AI) in business was one of cautious optimism shadowed by disappointment. Organizations launched pilots, generated buzz, and then quietly shelved initiatives that failed to scale. That narrative is changing. The World Economic Forum (WEF) inaugural MINDS report, produced in collaboration with Accenture, offers one of the most comprehensive snapshots yet of what successful, real-world Applied-AI adoption actually looks like. The findings are instructive, occasionally surprising, and carry clear strategic lessons for any organization still searching for the bridge between experimentation and ROI impact. The Scale of What is Happening The MINDS program drew applications from over 30 countries spanning every major region, with participation cutting across industries from energy and healthcare to financial services and advanced manufacturing. Information technology (IT) accounted for nearly one-third of all submissions, but what...