Overview
- IBM’s Institute for Business Value outlines five forces for 2026: agentic AI, employee demand for AI, consumer transparency, data sovereignty and local resilience, and preparation for quantum computing.
- In surveys of about 1,000 executives and 8,500 workers and consumers, 95% of leaders report rising pressure to decide faster and 84% say agentic AI accelerates decision-making and resource reallocation.
- Workforce sentiment skews pro‑AI, with 61% saying AI makes their roles less routine and 42% willing to accept lower pay in exchange for stronger training in new technologies.
- Trust and control emerge as priorities, with 89% of consumers wanting disclosure when they interact with AI and 93% of executives calling AI and data sovereignty indispensable to strategy.
- The report projects possible quantum advantage toward late 2026 contingent on collaborative ecosystems, while industry voices stress governance, sovereign cloud, sustainability, and security-by-design as AI-enabled threats intensify.