10 AI Questions CIOs Need to Answer in the Boardroom

I recently read an article, in which Lindsey Wilkinson made reference to an address by Tina Nunno, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner, who outlined 10 questions Chief Information Officers (CIOs) should answer related to AI initiatives in board presentations and documents:

1. How well has the enterprise historically innovated and adopted emerging technologies in the past?
2. How, when and by how much will adopting AI/generative technologies impact the company’s income statement, cash flow and balance sheet?
3. Does the board have the right structure to provide AI oversight?
4. What is the most appropriate way for the enterprise to deploy AI?
5. How aggressive is the AI strategy you’re proposing?
6. How does the enterprise’s AI strategy and current standing compare to competitors?
7. What are the AI use cases, how were they identified and why are they being prioritized?
8. What obstacles will the enterprise need to overcome to execute the AI strategy and what sort of work or investment will that take?
9. Does the enterprise need to hire AI skills, and what’s the impact on the existing workforce?
10. What kinds of controls will the enterprise deploy to mitigate AI’s risks?

As technology leaders polish their presenting skills, an emphasis on brevity is required, Nunno said. Board members only want to read an average of 40 pages prior to a meeting, according to Gartner surveys. After asking technology executives in the audience at the Symposium, about the length of the documents they hand to the board, quite a few raised their hands for more than 100 pages, with some saying even more than 200 pages.

“Being brief is a very important priority, and to the degree that you figure out exactly what it is they need to know or want to know, that’s time well invested,” said Nunno. “Having the right questions and right answers is tremendously helpful to boards.”

?I hope that the above will be helpful to all CIOs as they navigate the new terrain of AI.