- Chief AI officer is an evolving C-suite position that leads a company's AI strategy.
- Accenture's CAIO states that the key requirements for this role are Learn how technology can drive growth.
- This article is “CXO AI Playbook“Business leaders speak openly about how they're testing and using AI.”
Lan Guang, chief artificial intelligence officer at global professional services firm Accenture, says he approaches his role from “both an outside-in and an inside-out perspective.”
The latter means leading conversations with the company's customers about how they can adopt artificial intelligence and how the technology can drive growth.
Guan told Business Insider that he's excited to talk to clients about the potential of AI. “I believe this is a technology that can benefit everyone,” he said. “But 90 percent of the customers out there are still grappling with this technology.”
Internally, Guan said the company is helping Accenture employees build AI skills and attract talent already familiar with the technology.
Accenture created the CAIO role in September to further its mission of putting AI at the center of its strategy, Guan said. “It's a very exciting role and it's also a very challenging role. I love both aspects of it.”
As more organizations adopt AI, we spoke with Guan about how executives can determine whether they need a CAIO and how they can support them in that role.
The following has been edited for clarity and length.
What does a CAIO's role typically involve?
First and foremost, this is a C-level leader who drives the overall AI strategy for a particular company. It is important for any organization to have one leader who works with other technology leaders to coordinate the company-wide strategy.
How is the company using different types of AI as the foundation to drive growth, create personalized customer experiences, and increase efficiency across various business functions?
This role will also shape the talent roadmap, with AI having a tremendous impact on the entire workforce.
Another aspect is responsible AI governance: making sure you have standards internally for evaluating technology benchmarks, which drives compliance, governance, and standardization.
How can company leaders determine whether they need a CAIO?
I get this question a lot, and I think it's something that a lot of CEOs and board members are considering. Having a CAIO is not something that everyone can do right now, but we'll probably get there.
I believe that decisions should not always be made based on intuition, there needs to be an evidence-based approach to back up the decisions so that the risks associated with them can be understood How can businesses leverage AI to drive growth?
There is no textbook answer, you need to consider all the characteristics and choose the right leader.
What characteristics should company leaders look for in a CAIO?
This leader needs to have a multidisciplinary skill set: technology literacy is a must.
But you can't just be a super geeky technologist — you need to understand all areas of AI, from data to diagnostic AI, machine learning, deep learning and beyond.
You also have to be an inspirational leader. We work in a very disruptive space. You need to be a leader who is good at developing people, influencing and shaping the narrative.
Collaboration is also key: this is not a role where you sit in a dark room and work in a silo – you will need to work closely with all of the executive team.
It's a role that combines strategy, technology and talent change management.
How can company leaders ensure CAIO success?
This is a new role, so create an environment of nurturing and development. Allow this leader to gain experience. If a manufacturing company is hiring a CAIO, it is important that he or she visits all the plants and talks to the people who work there to gain first-hand experience.
The second is to have an innovation culture. It seems like a lot of companies are still trying to figure out what that means. This role is new, so there will likely be splitting up of things. Having an innovation mindset gives this leader the space to try new things and introduce new technologies.
