Six Questions Every Leader Needs to Ask About AI

Artificial intelligence is changing how we work, and leaders need to get a handle on it. This isn’t about doing everything at once, but starting with the basics to help your team use AI safely and effectively.

Key Takeaways

• Understand and address "shadow AI" where employees use AI without official oversight.
• Identify who is using AI within your organisation and how.
• Assign clear ownership for AI initiatives internally.
• Develop a practical and understandable AI policy.
• Assess both the risks of using AI and the risks of not using it.
• Explore the opportunities AI presents for your business.

Understanding Shadow AI

First off, let’s talk about shadow AI. If you’re not sure what that is, it’s basically when people in your company are using AI tools without any official rules or guidance. This is happening right now, and it’s a big deal. People are putting sensitive, secure information into tools like ChatGPT, and there’s a real risk of that data getting out. You really need to get a grip on this.

Who Is Using AI?

So, the next big question is: who is actually using AI in your organisation? You’ll have some people who think it’s just a passing trend, others who are using it for everything, maybe even generating emails that are just AI-produced nonsense. Then you’ve got the folks who are building applications with it. If you don’t keep track of this, there’s a significant risk to your business.

Who Owns AI Internally?

This leads to another important point: who is in charge of artificial intelligence within your company? There’s a new standard, ISO 42001, that covers this kind of thing. Whoever you put in charge – whether you call them an AI evangelist, head of AI, or chief AI officer – they’ll have a few key jobs. The first is to create an AI policy.

What Is Your AI Policy?

This brings us to the question: what exactly is our AI policy? What does it say? Is it a massive, complicated document that nobody will ever read, or is it something practical that everyone in the organisation can understand and follow? Having a clear, sensible policy that people can actually use is key. It shouldn’t be a legal document created by HR that no one gets; it needs to be something people can work with.

Assessing AI Risks

We also need to ask: what are the risks to the business, both from using AI and from not using it? Businesses are going to change fast over the next few years. If you’re not keeping up with artificial intelligence, you’re putting your company at risk. You need to understand and document these risks to make sure you’re not putting the business in a bad spot.

Exploring AI Opportunities

On the flip side, there are lots of opportunities with artificial intelligence. Because things are moving so quickly, some of the opportunities that your AI lead might identify might not be possible right now, but they could be in a few months. You don’t want to spend a ton of time and money on something that doesn’t quite work yet. It’s about taking small steps and starting with the simpler things. You don’t have to do everything at once.

So, to sum up, the six essential questions every leader needs to ask are:

1. What are we doing about shadow AI?
2. Who is using AI, and how are they using it?
3. Who is in charge of AI internally?
4. What does our AI policy say, and is it understandable?
5. What are the risks of using AI, and what are the risks of ignoring it?
6. What are the opportunities for our business using AI?

That’s pretty much ISO 42001 in a nutshell. If you need a hand with any of this, feel free to reach out.