Software stocks in Europe fall on concerns over AI pitfalls
SAP was briefly set for its biggest one-day drop since October 2020 and was last down 5.5 per cent. Meanwhile, Dassault Systemes, Sage and Nemetschek fell between 4 per cent and 10 per cent, making tech the worst-performing sector in Europe.
One trader said the selloff mirrored declines among U.S. peers such as Adobe, Salesforce, Intuit and Workday on Monday, following a MarketWatch article that looked into the potential impact of AI on software companies, in particular.
On Monday, Melius Research downgraded Adobe to sell.
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AT THIS year's International Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris, one thing was evident: the pace of technological change is accelerating, but our ability to make informed, strategic decisions about it is lagging behind. This dissonance is already playing out across organisations. Nearly half of employees who use generative AI at work do so through tools that are officially banned by their companies. It's a paradox that speaks volumes, as leaders remain unsure of how to govern tools their employees find valuable. Yet decision-making around technology is still too often driven by instinct, fear of falling behind, or a fixation on what is new rather than what is necessary. Leaders are encouraged to adopt early, automate more and digitise faster. What they are rarely asked to consider is: Where is the real value being created, and what trade-offs come with it? Recent research conducted by Essec Business School seeks to bring greater structure to this uncertainty. By analysing the impact of six emerging technologies (ranging from generative and descriptive AI to blockchain, quantum computing, robotics, and renewable energy) across 11 key economic sectors, the study introduces a matrix-style framework for understanding where genuine disruption is unfolding. It draws on more than 300 global industry publications, academic papers, patent activity, and the sentiments of 1,000 professionals across industries, offering a data-driven lens to look past the noise. Technologies that drive value Some of the findings are intuitive. Others are deeply revealing. The most striking is the dominance of generative AI, ranked highest in perceived disruption with a score of 89.45 out of 100, reflecting its explosive growth in academic and patent literature as well as industry excitement. But despite its dominance in headlines and boardroom conversations, a closer look reveals that it remains early-stage in implementation. 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