With the AI hype cycle and subsequent backlash in full swing, IT leaders find themselves at a delicate tipping point regarding the use of artificial intelligence within the enterprise.
Following the stark warnings of Elon Musk and respected AI pioneer Jeffrey Hinton, who recently left Google and voiced the risks of AI and a call to pause, IT leaders around the world are asking institutions, We have reached out to consulting firms and lawyers to seek advice on our future direction. Forward.
“Recent cautious statements from tech CEOs such as Elon Musk about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence show that we are not doing enough to mitigate the impact of innovation. said Ati Riazi, senior vice president and CIO of Hearst. “It is our duty as innovators to innovate responsibly and to understand the impact of technology on human life, society and culture.”
This opinion is shared by many IT leaders who believe that innovation in a free market society is inevitable and should be encouraged, especially in this era of digital transformation. However, proper rules and regulations must be in place to prevent corporate catastrophe or worse.
“While we agree that a pause may be appropriate for some industries and certain high-risk use cases, in many other situations we would like to quickly consider and drive the opportunities these tools offer. We need to,” said Bob McCowan, CIO of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
“Many board members are questioning whether these technologies should be adopted or whether there are too many risks,” McCowan added. “I think it’s both. If you ignore it or shut it down, you’re missing out on an important opportunity, but it gives you unrestricted access.” [to employees] A lack of control can put your organization at risk. “
AI tools have been around for years, but the recent public release of ChatGPT has sparked even more controversy, leaving many CIOs and their boards wondering how to proceed. . Some CIOs take the risks to the industry, and to humanity, very seriously.
“I worry about this every day,” said Steve Randitch, chief information officer at the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency (FINRA), the primary regulator that reports to the SEC.
Randitch says he recently saw a graph in which the “mental” capabilities of AI programs have just surpassed that of mice, and in a decade’s time will surpass that of all humans. “Think of me as concerned, especially if an AI program could be influenced by bad guys and potentially be able to hack nuclear cryptography or something,” he says.
George Westerman, Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, says business executives around the world are seeking advice from MIT Sloan and other institutions on the ethics, risks and potential liability of using generative AI. says. Still, Westerman said most CIOs already work with top management and boards, and generative AI itself does not impose new legal responsibilities that companies and their executive teams do not comply with today. I believe.
“Like every other officer in the company, [legal] They get coverage there for their official business,” Westermann said of CIOs’ personal and legal exposure to the effects of AI, and the inappropriate use of technology for personal gain. I pointed out that the exception is when you do.
Catching up with generative AI
Meanwhile, the release of ChatGPT has disrupted regulatory oversight efforts. The EU had planned to enact an AI law last month, but chose to postpone it after the release of ChatGPT as many feared the policy would be outdated before it came into effect. And as the European Commission and its governing bodies work to sort out the impact of generative AI, business executives in Europe and the US are taking the alarm bells seriously.
“As AI becomes a vital part of our landscape, and limited AI turns into general AI, who will be responsible? Head of technology, inanimate machine models? Am I endorsing/changing the model? The technology moves fast, but the management and ethics around it don’t.” Adriana Karabutis, group chief information and digital officer at National Grid, said.
“There is a catch-up game here. To this end, and in the meantime, it is the chief executives overseeing corporate and organizational risk who will govern AI within the enterprise. CTOs/CIOs/CTOs/CDOs/CISOs are no longer owners of information risk,” claims CIDO. “IT relies on her CEO and all her CxOs, which means they need to own a company culture and an awareness of and risks to the great benefits of AI.”
Stockholm-based telecommunications company Ericsson sees significant advantages in generative AI and is investing in creating multiple generative AI models, including large-scale language models, said Ericsson vice president and enterprise automation. said Rickard Wieselfors, Head of AI.
“There is a healthy amount of self-criticism within the AI industry and we take responsible AI very seriously,” he says. “There are some unanswered questions regarding the intellectual property rights of the text and source code used in training. Lack of granularity, precision certainly limits the intended use of the model.
“With great ability comes great responsibility. We support and participate in the current spirit of self-criticism and philosophical reflection on what AI can bring to the world,” says Wieselfors. say.
Some CIOs, such as Brian Kirkland of Choice Hotels, are watching the technology but do not believe generative AI is fully ready for commercial use.
“I believe it is important for the industry to ensure that they are aware of the risks, benefits and implications of using generative AI technologies like ChatGPT. Data ownership and generated content carry risks. , must be understood and managed to avoid negative impact on the company,” says Kirkland. “At the same time, there are many advantages and opportunities to consider. Having the ability to safely and securely merge private data sets with public data within these systems would be a huge advantage.
“From AI-generated content to complex and meaningful business analysis and decisions, there will be a dramatic shift in how AI and machine learning deliver business value,” said CIO of Choice Hotels. .
No one suggests fully retaining such a powerful and life-changing technology.
In a recent Gartner survey of more than 2,500 executives, 45% said the focus on ChatGPT has prompted them to invest more in AI. More than 70% say they are considering generative AI in their company, 19% are in pilot or production use, and projects from companies such as Unilever and CarMax are already showing promise .
At the MIT Sloan CIO conference starting May 15, Irving Vladorski Berger will host a panel discussion on the potential risks and benefits of entering the generative AI space. He recently hosted a pre-conference discussion on this technology.
“Today, we are all excited about generative AI,” said Sloan, a long-time IBM researcher and now an MIT collaborator, noting the major advances in genomics expected from AI. mentioned.
But Vladowski-Berger said the due diligence required of those adopting the technology is no easy task. “It takes a lot of effort,” he said. “[We must] Understand what works, what is safe and what to try. That’s the time consuming part. “
Another CIO on the panel, Zoetis chief digital and technology officer Wafa Mamiri, said generative AI has given drug companies greater confidence that they can treat chronic human diseases.
“With advances in generative AI technology and the computational power of genetic research, there are now trials in the United States and abroad, Japan and Europe aimed at treating diabetes,” she said.
Guardrails and Guidelines: The Essentials of Generative AI
Wall Street has given enough attention to the industry’s rapid adoption of generative AI. According to IDC, 2022 will be a record year for investment in generative AI startups, with equity funding surpassing his $2.6 billion.
“Whether it’s content creation with Jasper.ai, image creation with Midjourney, or text processing with Azure OpenAI services, there are generative AI foundational models that power every aspect of your business,” says a recent IDC report on generative. one said. love.
And CIOs already have the means to put in place guardrails to safely proceed with generative AI pilots, notes Regeneron’s McCowan.
“It is very important to have policies and guidelines in place to govern the access and behavior of users who plan to use technology and to remind staff to protect their intellectual property and PII.” [Personable Identifiable Information]It also reiterates that what is shared may become public,” McCowan said.
“We’ve brought together innovators and lawyers to find risk-based models that use these tools, and what data they might expose and what rights they have over the output from these solutions. Please clarify,” he says. “Start using technology with low-risk use cases and learn with each iteration. Start or you will lose.”
Forrester Research analyst David Truog points out that AI leaders are right to put a warning label on generative AI before companies begin piloting it and using it in production. But he also believes it can be done.
“I don’t think stopping or pausing the AI is the right way to go,” Trugue says. “A more realistic and constructive way is to choose wisely the use cases that specialized AI can serve, embed thoughtful guardrails, and have a deliberate air-gap strategy. prize.”
A DevOps IT head at a consulting firm points out several ways CIOs can reduce risk when using generative AI. A clear understanding of the value of technology. Determine ethical and legal considerations prior to testing. Experiment, but don’t rush to invest. And consider the impact from the customer’s perspective.
“A wise CIO will either form an oversight board or partner with an outside consultant who can guide the organization through implementation and help set guidelines to promote responsible use,” says Perforce in Bloomfield, Colorado. said Rod Coop, CTO of Given its value to the enterprise, introducing it into the tech stack requires careful consideration to protect you, your organization, and your customers. “
The rise of generative AI will certainly impact human work, but some IT leaders, like Ed Fox, CTO of managed service provider MetTel, believe everyone will either adapt or fall behind. We believe that it is necessary to take, but that the impact may be exaggerated.
“The awakening of generative AI will put some people out of work, but not as much as some people expected,” says Fox. “People who don’t accept a real-time encyclopedia will pass by.”
Still, if there’s one theme that’s certain, it’s that for most CIOs, prudence is the best course of action. So does getting involved.
CIOs must strike a balance between “strict regulations that stifle innovation and guidelines to ensure that AI is developed and used responsibly,” says Wipro’s Google business group general manager , Tom Richer, said he was working with his alma mater, Cornell University. AI initiatives, proceed with caution.
“It is important for CIOs and IT executives to be aware of the potential risks and benefits of generative AI and work with subject matter experts to develop responsible strategies around its use,” says Richer. . “This collaboration should involve universities, large technology companies, think tanks and government research centers to develop best practices and guidelines for the development and deployment of AI technologies.”
