Orlando – October 24, 2026 -- Enterprise AI adoption is continuing in 2026 despite mounting security, accountability and control concerns, CIOs attending Gartner's IT Symposium/Xpo told CIO Dive. In financial services, three-quarters of leaders reported using the technology this year, up from less than one-third in 2024.
Several CIOs compared AI's impact to the dot-com era and the arrival of cloud: it enables business reinvention but brings security and social risks. Gartner analysts said in the keynote that most tech executives are weighing those risks against AI's measurable and unquantifiable value.
Capital One Software executive calls non-adoption an 'extinction event'
Prashant Prahlad, SVP of product at Capital One Software, said skipping AI is not an option for enterprises. "If you don't get on board, it's going to be an extinction event," he said.
Prahlad, who has a cybersecurity background, said risk appetite for enterprise AI was low before its recent rise. He said the Hugging Face incident shows the industry still has much to learn about autonomy and access in agentic systems. He cautioned against over-securing systems in ways that prove counterproductive, and said high-profile hacks could push companies toward governance action.
Heineken's U.S. CIO flags unclear control over fast-moving AI
Frank Iannella, USA CIO and SVP for digital and technology at Heineken, said the pace of change worries him most. He is also concerned that it is unclear who controls AI development and that builders cannot explain why their systems behave as they do. Heineken is focused on using data for decision intelligence across marketing, sales and operations.
Bowdoin College CIO targets free consumer agents as top worry
Michael Cato, SVP and CIO at Bowdoin College, said his biggest concern changes often and is now free, publicly accessible AI agents. He pointed to Meta's Muse personal agent and OpenAI's Dot, which non-business users have widely adopted in recent weeks. He said the providers hand users a virtual environment with few security boundaries, and he fears individuals could accidentally wipe out their retirement savings.
Infor CIO says AI is entering core processes before ownership is settled
Mike Park, CIO at cloud software provider Infor, said companies are putting AI into core processes faster than they can assign responsibility and govern it. Many organizations lack accountability systems for when an agent errs or overreaches, he said. Park said naming the responsible person or group will be critical in 2027 and beyond.
Oregon State Treasury takes a slower path on AI
Jerry Walker, CIO for the Oregon State Treasury, said his team is deliberately not trying to move as fast as possible with AI. His main concern is whether the organization can trade every morning at 5 a.m. and protect investors. Walker said his organization and many peers are betting "everything" on AI. He added that a single mistake at the scale of money handled could shift the market quickly.