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Forbes’ new CxO Growth Survey lays bare a frantic scramble inside boardrooms across America and the globe: companies are rushing to embrace artificial intelligence as the shortcut to growth, but that rush is exposing a dangerous mismatch between flashy tech bets and the real needs of workers and consumers. Executives may love the promise of AI, but lab-grown optimism does not automatically translate into durable strategy or loyalty to the American workforce.
The report finds an almost paradoxical mood among leaders — 90 percent of C-suite executives say they expect their companies to be stronger three years from now, yet short-term confidence is shaky, with far fewer leaders certain about the year ahead. That disconnect should set off alarm bells: optimism for some distant tomorrow doesn’t excuse reckless decisions today that could hollow out jobs and communities.
Technology has leapfrogged brand purpose on the CxO agenda, with digital transformation now sitting at the top of the list and most boards pumping up tech budgets aggressively. Forbes reports a surge in digital initiatives and a massive commitment to AI and cybersecurity spending, with firms planning big budget jumps — this is not cautious experimentation, it’s an all-in bet that could magnify both profit and risk.
At the same time, AI-driven automation is already being pushed into the heart of customer service and process workflows: executives say AI agents are reshaping automation, and a meaningful share of companies have moved agents into production for support and operations. That’s the moment where efficiency can become displacement if companies don’t pair deployment with real safeguards and a plan for the people affected.
The survey also flags the skills gap every conservative has warned about: leaders say upskilling is essential, yet the pace of training lags behind the pace of deployment, leaving frontline workers to play catch-up. If corporations are going to harvest the gains from AI, they must invest in American workers first — because a machine succeeds in business only when it complements a skilled human team, not replaces one.
There’s another noteworthy shift that should interest patriotic taxpayers: moral signaling like DEI and sustainability slipped in priority as executives doubled down on technology and profitability, only to put those programs back on the agenda later as political winds changed. That practical recalibration tells you what matters when profits and livelihoods are on the line — companies will pivot to what keeps them competitive, and so should policymakers focused on preserving jobs and innovation at home.
Conservatives should welcome innovation, but we must insist on common-sense guardrails: require transparency about AI deployment, tie government incentives to workforce retraining and portability, and hold companies accountable when technological speed creates social harm. America can lead the AI era, but only if we put hardworking citizens and secure industries first instead of bowing to Silicon Valley’s worship of disruption for disruption’s sake.
This moment is a choice between American resilience and unfettered technological determinism dressed as progress. Business leaders who genuinely want sustainable growth will back up their AI ambitions with real investment in people, local communities and conservative principles of responsibility — and voters should demand nothing less.
