Three-quarters of UAE executives surveyed by IBM said an AI-related incident reached their board or C-suite during the past year, highlighting the growing gap between AI deployment and governance.
The findings come from a Censuswide survey of 206 UAE executives at organisations with at least 1,000 employees. The UAE sample formed part of a wider survey of 3,221 executives across eight European and Middle Eastern countries.
According to the study, 38% of UAE respondents already have agentic AI in production, including 13% that have deployed it across enterprise operations. Meanwhile, 78% expect AI agents to have some decision-making autonomy by 2027.
Only 41% said their governance frameworks are designed to scale with agentic AI. Another 35% said their existing frameworks could handle the technology but need strengthening. Despite governance lagging deployment, 60% said they continue operating within agreed risk limits, while 30% delay deployment.
Among executives who reported an escalated incident, 49% changed their AI governance policy or framework, and 40% adjusted investment or deployment plans. Ownership of agent outcomes remains unclear: 21% assign it primarily to the chief risk or compliance officer, while 17% cite shared C-suite responsibility.
Only 39% have a formal, board-reviewed estimate of the financial risks created by governance gaps.
Source: Middle East AI News
