AI adoption in Cyprus remains limited, with just 7% of businesses using artificial intelligence (AI) extensively, compared with 12% across the European Union.
A further 32% of Cypriot businesses have no plans to use AI in the future, according to a Eurobarometer survey examining the factors influencing the adoption of AI and algorithmic management in small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-cap companies.
The survey included businesses employing between one and 749 people. It identified a lack of expertise, high investment costs and uncertainty over regulatory requirements as the main barriers to wider AI adoption.
Only 7% use AI extensively
The survey found that 31% of Cypriot businesses use AI tools or automated systems to a limited extent or on an experimental basis.
Another 5% do not currently use the technology but plan to adopt it within the next two years, while 21% intend to use it at some point in the future.
However, nearly one in three businesses, or 32%, said they neither use AI nor intend to introduce it.
Customer service leads AI applications
Customer service and customer relationship management are the main areas in which Cypriot businesses currently use or plan to use AI.
Asked where their companies use or intend to use AI tools or automated systems, 54% identified customer service, compared with 47% across the EU.
Employee training options and recommendations were cited by 40% of businesses, while 37% said they use or plan to use the technology to monitor work performance or productivity.
Humans retain control over decisions
Businesses using AI reported that the technology generally supports rather than replaces human decision-making.
Almost half of the Cypriot businesses using these systems, or 49%, said AI provides recommendations while final decisions are always made by people.
In a further 33% of businesses, decisions are made entirely by humans.
By contrast, 13% said decisions are made by automated systems but can be reviewed by a person following a complaint. Just 3% reported fully automated decision-making without human intervention.
85% expect positive effects on working life
Despite the barriers to adoption, Cypriot businesses expressed broadly positive expectations about AI’s potential impact on working life.
Some 85% believe AI could have a positive effect on factors such as job satisfaction, safety, privacy and workload. This is 10 percentage points above the EU average of 75%.
More specifically, 24% expect a very positive impact, while 61% anticipate a fairly positive effect.
Meanwhile, 5% expect a fairly negative impact, 3% foresee a very negative impact and 4% believe AI will have no impact.
Skills shortages and costs remain major barriers
A lack of in-house expertise was identified as the biggest obstacle to AI adoption in Cyprus.
Some 67% of Cypriot businesses consider insufficient internal expertise a significant barrier, compared with 48% across the EU. Of those surveyed in Cyprus, 29% described the issue as a very significant difficulty and 38% as fairly significant.
High investment costs were another major concern, cited by 60% of Cypriot businesses, against 50% at EU level.
The same proportion, 60%, identified uncertainty over legal and regulatory requirements as a significant obstacle, compared with 49% across the EU.
Other concerns include employees’ fears that AI could lead to increased workplace monitoring, as well as a lack of trust in the technology among staff and management.
Also read: Doctor lifts the lid on conditions at public hospitals in Cyprus
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