Irish leaders most wary on AI risks in Expleo survey

Expleo has expanded its monthly AI Pulse sentiment tracker to Ireland. Survey results show Irish business leaders taking a more cautious view of artificial intelligence than peers in other European markets covered by the index.

The Ireland launch adds a fourth country to the tracker, which also surveys business leaders in the UK, Germany and France. The Irish results point to heightened concern about AI-related cybersecurity risks and a greater tendency to frame AI as a risk for organisations.

Irish respondents recorded an overall score of 64 out of 100 on the tracker's confidence index for February. The index ranges from 0 ("very worried") to 100 ("very confident").

Expleo surveys 200 respondents in each market. The tracker measures sentiment across dimensions including worry, excitement, trust and confidence, and is designed to show how views shift over time.

Cybersecurity concerns

Cybersecurity was the leading concern among Irish business leaders in February. Some 61% said they were concerned about cybersecurity risks posed by AI, the highest share across the four countries surveyed.

The results also suggest Irish organisations are more likely than those in neighbouring markets to see AI as a net risk. In Ireland, 28% of business leaders viewed AI as a risk to their organisation rather than a benefit, compared with 16% in the UK, 16% in Germany, and 19% in France.

Concerns extended beyond security and risk perception. Almost half of Irish business leaders (45%) said they were concerned about how AI is transforming their organisation, pointing to the operational and organisational strain that can come with adopting the technology at scale.

Ethics and governance also featured in the results: one in five Irish respondents (20%) said they did not trust their organisation to use AI ethically.

Jobs and change

The survey also pointed to workplace anxiety linked to AI, both in Ireland and across the other markets. In Ireland, 44% of business leaders said they were worried about the impact of AI on their own job.

Concern about job impacts rose across all markets in February. France recorded the highest level, with 52% of business leaders worried about their jobs because of AI-the first market in the tracker where a majority reported such concerns.

The Ireland findings come as businesses across sectors weigh new investment in AI tools against rising scrutiny of data protection, governance and resilience. Boards and senior leadership teams are also under pressure to manage cybersecurity exposure as they adopt new systems and change operational processes.

Expleo is a technology, engineering and consulting services provider with more than 17,000 employees across 30 countries and more than €1.3 billion in revenue.

Phil Codd, Managing Director for Ireland at Expleo, linked the tracker's findings to broader challenges companies face as they move from AI experimentation to wider deployment.

"AI has proven to be a powerful driver of efficiency, but at Expleo, we see many organisations facing challenges in implementing and scaling it. The results from the AI Pulse tracker appear to mirror this challenge, highlighting the need for businesses to balance innovation with governance, security, and a robust operational framework. At Expleo, we'll be tracking these shifts carefully with each monthly update to ensure our clients are well-positioned to navigate these challenges effectively."

Expleo will publish monthly updates to the Ireland tracker alongside results for the UK, Germany and France.