McKinsey Asks: Are Emerging AI Technologies Overhyped?

It’s true that technology is moving faster than ever before. The rise of AI, the expansion of the IoT and the development of robotics are all contributing to a hugely exciting time in the industry.

At the same time, it is also true that the tech sector has a real tendency to inflate its own importance. You can’t move for a “revolution” here or a “ground-breaking initiative” there.

At times, it feels as though the superlatives used to describe certain technologies overegg the impact they actually have.

But what do tech experts and industry insiders think about this phenomenon?

Speaking at McKinsey Technology's 21st annual CIO Conference in Kitzbühel, Austria, more than 100 executives from 22 countries addressed the question head on, identifying those technologies that can actually deliver impact at scale.

How AI is reshaping businesses already

The discussions at McKinsey’s conference revealed that AI is no longer merely an additional tool but is fundamentally transforming leadership approaches across industries.

As AI agents become capable of executing complex workflows, organisations face the challenge of establishing robust data foundations to avoid adding unnecessary complexity rather than driving efficiency.

According to several partners at McKinsey, who produced a report following the Kitzbühel conference, Gen AI is "inherently changing how we understand leadership", with many C-suite decisions now being informed by or delegated to AI systems.

This shift is giving leaders more freedom to focus on strategy and bigger picture problems.

Quantum computing is gaining momentum

If you were to rank the most talked about technologies of the past decade, quantum tech wouldn’t be too far behind AI.

Yet, for all the fervour, quantum computing is still a long way from mass adoption, both in terms of development and demand — and quantum theory has been around for more than a century.

So, is it overhyped?

In 2025, there have been a few substantial breakthroughs in quantum computing, sensing and communication, with "massive advancements in error mitigation and correction and logical qubit demonstrations", according to McKinsey’s report.

These are particularly showing particular promise for the pharmaceuticals, mobility, chemicals and finance sectors.

Public investment in quantum technologies reached around US$42bn in 2023, which, while not as large as investments in AI, is a huge expenditure. It’s likely also a sign that quantum technology will play a large part in the next few years.

Execution over innovation

At the McKinsey conference, the attendees spoke at length about the notion that technology alone cannot set an organisation apart unless it is executed and implemented in the right way.

The integration of AI, automation and resilience technologies is more challenging than it seems, though.

Making these things compatible with legacy systems and huge networks is a huge obstacle to overcome.

"Building up an organisation's execution muscle requires the right combination of technology skills, talent management and a targeted approach to sourcing new solutions", say the writers of McKinsey’s report. 

Resilience over speed

One of the key observations that McKinsey has made is that resilience is top priority for many CTOs and CIOs.

The focus has shifted from rapid implementation to building safe and secure systems that can withstand geopolitical problems and operational complexities.

This conservative approach isn’t being taken by all companies, though. Take Meta, for instance, which is offering eyewatering salaries to AI experts in its pursuit of market dominance.

For most, though, cost pressures and stakeholder expectations mean that solidity and sustainability is king, especially with the risks the AI brings in its wake.

Cross-industry transformation

Perhaps most interestingly of all, McKinsey’s Kitzbühel conference showed that technological transformation is on the lips of every single industry, not just those with a connection to the digital economy.

The discussions revealed that "industry lines did not seem to exist" as organisations across all sectors explore how to rewire their business operations, talent management, data systems and technology infrastructure.

The future of industry has, in many senses, already been planned out. In theory, we can understand how technologies like AI and quantum computing will be applied across the board — as well as the positive effects they will have on efficiency and sustainability.

All that remains is the implementation.