A recent survey by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) has reignited debate over artificial intelligence's impact on productivity, with 90% of CEOs reporting no measurable improvement from AI adoption. The February 2026 study surveyed 6,000 executives across the US, UK, Germany, and Australia, revealing that the average AI user spends only 1.5 hours per week on AI tools—despite corporate AI spending exceeding $250 billion in 2024.
Economists, including Torsten Slok of Apollo Global Management, have dubbed this the return of the "Solow Paradox," a term coined by Nobel laureate Robert Solow in 1987, who famously remarked, "You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics." The findings suggest that despite massive investment, AI has yet to translate into widespread efficiency gains or job restructuring, echoing historical patterns where transformative technologies take years to manifest in economic data.
The survey highlights a disconnect between AI hype and on-the-ground reality, raising questions about whether AI will eventually boost productivity or remain an overhyped tool. For now, CEOs remain skeptical, with the overwhelming majority seeing zero impact on their bottom line.