“Nose in, fingers out.” That’s the rule—of thumb, so to speak—for corporate boards. Board members already have a long list of mission-critical issues in their sights, including risk and reputation management, advising and encouraging the CEO, financial performance, and growth opportunities. Naturally, nobody expects them to get involved in the nitty-gritty of technical operations as well.
The question is: “Why do we need to discuss Artificial Intelligence?”
That is what I usually hear when I encourage board members to put AI on the agenda. But while the question remains the same, the reasons behind board members’ bemusement varies—and that speaks volumes about misconceptions over what is coming down the proverbial pipe.
“Our plates are already overflowing,” some say, “How is this a priority now?”
“We are not a technology company,” others remark, “AI is not a board level issue.”
“We have so much digital disruption to address already,” still others say, “Why is AI more important than all the other technology issues?”
I sit and smile, because they are right, in a conventional business context. But what is happening—and about to happen—as a result of AI, is anything but conventional.
AI is an existential threat within every industry
Artificial Intelligence is a board level issue because of its singular capability for exponential disruption. It will shake up the global business and consumer landscapes more thoroughly and dramatically than any previous technology has in the history of technology. I say this without hyperbole.
Here’s why: AI gets better every day with little or no human interaction. But not just incrementally better—once set to task on a particular objective and fed with sufficient data, well-developed AI operates in a continual feedback loop that improves results exponentially. With each new degree of accuracy and achievement, AI ratchets performance up even further, until the momentum of improvement is unstoppable. Once a player achieves this flywheel effect, it will be impossible for competitors to catch up. This is what I call the “Winner Takes All” paradigm.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/glenngow/2022/06/05/ai-in-business-the-one-thing-every-board-member-asks/?sh=2e4f58073c27
The question is: “Why do we need to discuss Artificial Intelligence?”
That is what I usually hear when I encourage board members to put AI on the agenda. But while the question remains the same, the reasons behind board members’ bemusement varies—and that speaks volumes about misconceptions over what is coming down the proverbial pipe.
“Our plates are already overflowing,” some say, “How is this a priority now?”
“We are not a technology company,” others remark, “AI is not a board level issue.”
“We have so much digital disruption to address already,” still others say, “Why is AI more important than all the other technology issues?”
I sit and smile, because they are right, in a conventional business context. But what is happening—and about to happen—as a result of AI, is anything but conventional.
AI is an existential threat within every industry
Artificial Intelligence is a board level issue because of its singular capability for exponential disruption. It will shake up the global business and consumer landscapes more thoroughly and dramatically than any previous technology has in the history of technology. I say this without hyperbole.
Here’s why: AI gets better every day with little or no human interaction. But not just incrementally better—once set to task on a particular objective and fed with sufficient data, well-developed AI operates in a continual feedback loop that improves results exponentially. With each new degree of accuracy and achievement, AI ratchets performance up even further, until the momentum of improvement is unstoppable. Once a player achieves this flywheel effect, it will be impossible for competitors to catch up. This is what I call the “Winner Takes All” paradigm.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/glenngow/2022/06/05/ai-in-business-the-one-thing-every-board-member-asks/?sh=2e4f58073c27
