How to Understand AI at Board Level in 7 Steps
Gabrielle Hase
CEO, Non-Executive Director, Board Advisor, Keynote Speaker | K3 Plc & UltraCommerce
I am not an Artificial Intelligence expert (God knows there are enough of those around these days), but my point is (breathe a sigh of relief, Boards): you don’t need to be an expert to understand how to apply AI creatively and strategically to your business. It’s simply a case of translating technology into impact.
AI’s disruptive impact in retail can be seen across the value chain and is emerging as an unparalleled tool for brands to align their offerings with the expectations of their customers and gain a strategic advantage in the market.?Every Board that wants to do its job effectively in 2023 needs to understand AI, but currently, there’s a lot of confusion:
IT analyst firm,?Info-Tech Research Group reports?that 44% of private sector companies plan to invest in AI systems this year, and Gartner also tells us?that customer satisfaction is expected to grow this year by 25% in organisations that use AI.
Starting now is already playing catch up with the big players. So, let’s begin in a way that ensures you don’t waste any further time or budget.
7 Steps to Understand AI at Board Level
Board Directors should approach AI with a combination of strategic vision, informed decision-making, and responsible oversight. Obviously, it depends on what sector your business operates in as some can more easily incorporate AI capability than others, but as a starting point:
1.????Become fluent in the basics
Take advantage of the wealth of online information and resources to understand the fundamental concepts, capabilities, and limitations of AI. This includes gaining knowledge about machine learning, algorithms, data privacy, and ethical implications. Building AI literacy will ensure you can fully engage in strategic discussions and ask informed questions. Remote workshops and online courses are easy ways to get started with AI and to increase your knowledge of areas such as ML and?predictive analytics?within your organisation. See below for some places to start.
2.????Identify the problems and align strategy with business objectives
Think about how you can add AI capabilities to your existing products and services and identify specific use cases in which AI could solve business problems, create value, enhance efficiencies, and enable innovation. How can AI be incorporated into your daily tasks, to improve your decision-making, enhance customer experiences, and open the door to new revenue streams?
It's easy to get lost in the clouds during AI discussions, so initiatives must be tied directly to business value, and prioritised accordingly. Boards should work closely with executive leadership to define a clear AI strategy, and challenge management to articulate how AI initiatives contribute to long-term business goals.
3.????Assess the risks
This includes cybersecurity threats, data privacy concerns, legal and regulatory compliance, and potential reputational risks if AI adoption and implementation don’t go according to plan. This is also important where different departments could be using generative AI tools that might not adequately consider copyright law. It’s essential to remind the business that they shouldn’t be uploading any confidential business materials into any generative AI framework, another potential area of risk.?
4.????Establish an ethical framework
?Work with executives to establish a framework that guides AI development and implementation. Consider bias, fairness, transparency, and accountability. You may want to consider setting up an AI ethics committee and conducting impact assessments to ensure your efforts are adhering to industry standards.
5.????Foster a culture of diversity, collaboration, innovation, and learning
Staying competitive in the rapidly evolving AI landscape requires Boards to become advocates for investments in AI research and development, talent acquisition and upskilling, as well as partnerships with external experts or organisations. It means promoting diverse perspectives and multidisciplinary collaboration, incorporating viewpoints from various disciplines (technical experts, legal professionals, ethicists, etc) to make more well-rounded decisions and mitigate blind spots.
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AI is a rapidly evolving field, so you should encourage everyone to stay up to date about the latest developments, trends, and best practices, and to apply creative thinking. Attend industry conferences, arrange organisation-wide educational programs, engage with external AI experts, and leverage advisory services.
6.????Ensure responsible AI governance
Boards should oversee the establishment of robust AI governance mechanisms. This includes defining clear roles and responsibilities, establishing accountability frameworks, and implementing appropriate controls for data handling, model development, and algorithmic decision-making. The governance structure should also include regular monitoring and reporting on AI initiatives.
7.????Build Carefully
AI systems are all-too-often designed with specific goals in mind, but without understanding the requirements and limitations of the hardware and software. It results in a potentially dysfunctional system that inevitably misses the mark.
You need to build in sufficient bandwidth for storage, the graphics processing unit (GPU), and networking. AI requires access to vast quantities of data. You also need to understand what kinds of data will be involved with each project, as well as build in the flexibility to allow repurposing of hardware as organisational requirements change. Lastly, be aware that your usual security safeguards may not be enough.
By approaching AI with strategic foresight and a commitment to learning, Board Directors can effectively guide their organisations in replacing fear and anxiety with creativity and innovation, to harness the wealth of benefits, while managing the associated risks.
Over to you, Boards.
If you’re looking for further guidance, feel free to reach out.
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The Tech Spec
?Useful online resources to get started with Step 1:
Written by Gabrielle Hase.
CEO of?Soleberry Advisory?and digital Non-Executive Director. I want to help solve the problem of the lack of appropriate female and digital skills and perspectives at the board table.?
?Check out and subscribe to?Digital On Board?for?comments on trends and current events, useful technology highlights, and tips and tricks I’ve learned to help brands understand, engage and retain their customers. Please feel free to share.??
Global VP of Tech: driving Salesforce success
1 年I liked Caroline's comment on Predictive vs Generative. Most people have predictive AI like product recommendations, search suggestions, etc. The risk is low with these tools and they have very narrow applications. The idea of having a 'Human in the loop' is a solid place to start with the use of Generative AI and controls. Helping it speed up customer service responses or marketing emails, etc. But the human does the check and edit. I liked your advice Gabrielle too, sadly, I wonder how many board members will step up to educate themselves enough?
It's good that you point out that companies are already using AI. As do all of us, every day (unless people don't use predictive text on their phones). What's different now and has created all the buzz is the arrival of generative AI that produces NEW content using the massive data models it's been trained on. We're still in the very early stages of understanding the true capabilities of generative AI and every board should understand the potential possibilities it creates.
Great article Gabrielle