This year hasn’t lived up to the high expectations of the bankers and lawyers that advise tech companies on acquisitions. One major culprit is fear of AI-driven irrelevance, which has paralyzed corporate CEOs, according to some bankers and lawyers gathered in New Orleans for the annual Tulane Corporate Law Institute conference.

“I have a lot of clients who are not doing M&A right now because of all the uncertainty around how AI is going to affect their business and the business of potential targets,” said Scott Barshay, chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, on a panel. The New York–based law firm advises large companies, including some tech businesses.