Artificial intelligence: Tomorrow’s risks are today’s risks

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In a survey by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) in the US, 95 percent of directors acknowledged that AI will have a significant future impact on their businesses, but only 28 percent of them said that AI is a regular feature in their board’s discussions.

Fast forward to March 2024. Airmic members were polled on whether the topic of AI is now on their board’s current agenda – 78% of respondents said that it is.

AI has been flagged as an emerging risk for some time by Airmic member organisations – boards are discussing AI risk frameworks and risk assessments. Where initiatives around generative AI (GenAI) originate at the top, organisations are seeing clear benefits from that strategic leadership. However, boards need to be confident and informed about the outcomes of AI decisions that can affect the lives and wellbeing of people in wide-ranging ways. And when asked specifically about the risks of adopting GenAI, few respondents said that their company is mitigating the most commonly cited risk with GenAI of ‘inaccuracy’. Respondents cite inaccuracy more frequently than cybersecurity and regulatory compliance, which were the most common risks from AI cited in previous surveys.