On November 30, 2022, the course of the history of AI changed with the public release of OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT. Suddenly, the world turned its attention to the ideas of transformers, large language models, and GenAI.
Today, ChatGPT has more than 100 million weekly users and approximately 627 million users every month. Everywhere and seemingly all at once, free, and fee-based versions of generative artificial intelligence, including ChatGPT’s competitors, are accessible through web browsers and productivity software.
Traditional AI enabled innovation and efficiencies but yielded a level of predictable and foreseeable outcomes. It could be governed and managed within specific business functions. Decision trees, automated classification of content, or AI-enhanced document drafting could be governed by an information technology department. Some have referred to this governance model as an “island of excellence.” Board and C-Suite attention were required for approving a budget. But look at the contrast with GenAI.
Your enterprise and stakeholders already use GenAI, with or without your sanction. It is a fast-paced technology that cannot be ignored.
GenAI: a double-edged sword – its creative power can innovate or hallucinate.
On a positive note, GenAI is enhancing productivity, facilitating innovation, and achieving breakthroughs never before possible. On a negative note, GenAI can be used to disrupt or eliminate jobs, businesses, and industries – possibly your own.
Actors with ill intent can use its creative powers to enable cyberattacks and other undesirable actions in society. On the other hand, a business can deploy it to increase operational efficiencies – decreasing costs – and innovate by creating new products and new business lines.
The threat and opportunity from GenAI’s ubiquity.
The ubiquitous creative power of GenAI, with or without management’s sanction, enables employees, contractors, and subcontractors to generate text, audio, video, or software code on their personal devices to increase productivity at work – a positive development. But there is a negative side: Customers might be able to employ GenAI to replace your product or service partially or fully. They have at their fingertips the means to easily create their own business to supply the same services to your other customers!
The need for unprecedented board & C-Suite oversight.
Your enterprise and stakeholders already use GenAI, with or without your sanction. It is a fast-paced technology that cannot be ignored. Boards and C-Suites that engage in the best practices of purposeful leadership and innovation can transfer that oversight to GenAI. Boards and C-Suites that lack those skills need to acquire them very quickly. Again, GenAI is ubiquitous, and all your stakeholders can access it.
The technology is pervasive; leadership is unique.
Note: The above content will be part of an open conversation in our upcoming webinar, An Open Discussion about Board Oversight of Generative Ai, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Everyone interested is welcome to join us. Register here.
