Most New Orleans area startups see artificial intelligence and machine learning as likely game changers for their industries, but they’re not all sure if that’s a good thing.

Approximately 37 percent of area startups cited the technologies, more than any other advancement, as likely having the biggest long-term impact on their businesses, but nearly a third surveyed see them as both their biggest threat — and their biggest opportunity — according to the 2024 Tulane University New Orleans Startup Report.

The report, compiled by the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Tulane’s A. B. Freeman School of Business, is based on a survey of 126 startups across the 10-parish region. Now in its sixth year, the annual report has become the benchmark for tracking entrepreneurial activity throughout the New Orleans region.

“Our report highlights both the immense opportunities and significant challenges posed by AI technologies,” said Rob Lalka, Albert R. Lepage Professor in Business and Lepage Center executive director. “While startups in the region are right to view AI as a transformative force — capable of revolutionizing industries and fueling growth — we must also acknowledge the very real risks to business and society if AI is adopted without ethical standards and common-sense safeguards.”

Area startups see generative AI such as ChatGPT as the second technology innovation most likely to impact their companies, followed by robotics and automation.

The survey found once-hot areas of interest losing their luster. Only 3% of survey respondents think blockchain or cryptocurrency technology will have a long-term impact on their business. Social media (1%), synthetic users (1%) and the combination of virtual reality and augmented reality (1%) were each regarded as having the least long-term impact.

The report also features responses around the economy, employment and hiring, funding and more. Visit gnostartupreport.com to read the full report.