Boards - Don't Just Monitor AI... USE It

(Condensed from the May Boardroom INSIDER)

In all the discussion of AI potential, dangers and monitoring, one specific board angle goes unreported – How can boards make use of AI for their workaday tasks?

This topic is a work in progress.? Indeed, much of my research so far consists of people in the know on AI saying “that’s a good idea… let me know what you find.”? But AI is already being put to use at 75% of companies, and its potential for the work of governance is huge.? Here is a roundup on the topic at the moment. ??

[] Step one is to lay out a board assessment of AI usage.? Corporate Compliance Insights suggests a five-part process. First, is a tool really AI enabled (can it analyze and make predictions, and put data to work… is it adaptative to board needs?? What is the source, and who uses it (is the board already familiar with tools like ChatGPT… does it work with enterprise or other systems already being used)? How will you use it (recruiting, big data, analysis, trend spotting)? What’s the purpose (internal tasks, external info sharing)?? Finally, how would the board access the tool (website… cloud… is it public or private, and what are security protocols)?

[] Liat Ben-Zur , is an early trailblazer on how directors can put AI to work in the boardroom, and lists a few hot topics. First is spotting board biases that can be hidden in decision-making (she cites the HR AI hiring platform Pymetrics );? boosting financial expertise and oversight through AI risk and modeling tools (one talent of the DataRobot platform); regulatory compliance -- very dynamic and dangerous -- benefits from tool like Compliance.ai for monitoring and trend spotting, and shaping board manuals and procedures.

[] A few other contenders : The Govenda board portal has just rolled out the Gabii AI app, which promises to help crunch board info, improve minuting and scheduling, and review board charter and bylaw documents.? The Board Intelligence Lucia tool is designed to compile, focus and edit management reports for the board in ways that make everyone’s role easier.? Diligent has just debuted an AI-powered board risk reporting tool.? Plus, all the new general AI productivity and research widgets (such as Microsoft Copilot and SAS Viya ) can be set to work on your personal board tasks.

[] Final thoughts – “AI tools will be increasingly used to summarize highlights from long documents (think pre-reads, 10-Ks) to help directors prepare” says tech maven Alissa Hsu Lynch .? And a final danger for your board to weigh – how do you keep company data secure and confidential when board members start stuffing it into these AI data sets?? Work out protocols for this now.