Board Members’ Pathway for Guiding AI
Steering the Future: Board Members’ Pathway for Guiding AI
The board is essential in leading organizations towards a beneficial AI integration vision, reimagining business, and AI to support human work. Board members must engage in specific actions to grasp AI’s nuances and to better understand and guide their organizations through the AI transformation process
- Deepen the AI Knowledge: Board members should cultivate a solid foundation in AI, particularly in the areas of generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs), including leading examples like ChatGPT (OpenAI), Co-Pilot (Microsoft), and Gemini (Google). Understanding these technologies’ capabilities, limitations, and potential industry impacts is crucial. This expertise, built on self-awareness and genuine lifelong learning curiosity, equips board members to make well-informed decisions, enabling them to guide their organizations with precision and insight.TIPS: Education Boards Impact Forum, Scandinavian Executive Institute, INSEAD, IMD, MIT
- Remain Updated on AI Progress: It’s essential for board members to stay abreast of the latest AI developments and their application across various sectors, including their own industry. Embracing ongoing insights signifies a commitment to long-term strategic visioning. This approach, enriched by critical thinking and an understanding of complex systems, positions board members to foresee emerging trends, recognizing potential opportunities and challenges at their nascent stages.
TIPS: WEF Intelligence Guide: Technology Accelerated Innovation and Responsible AI - Cultivate and Role Model an AI-Savvy Culture: Board members should exemplify and champion the embrace of AI initiatives, embodying integrity, humility, and a dedication to learning. By fostering an environment that welcomes transparent dialogue about AI, including its ethical application and business implications, they lay the groundwork for a culture attuned to embracing technological evolution.
TIPS: Join Digoshen Board Community, Boards Impact Forum
Champion AI Exploration: Boards must actively endorse and support the exploratory use of AI within their organizations, acknowledging its role in sparking innovation. This involves creating an environment that values AI exploration at all levels, removing the fear of reprisal or job displacement as barriers to innovation. By incentivizing and recognizing employees who lead in the development of effective AI applications, boards signal their dedication to progressive practices.
Empower and Trust Teams: Boards should inspire teams to independently seek out and adopt AI solutions that improve their operational processes. This approach leverages AI’s capacity for customization, opening the door to undiscovered efficiencies and innovations. It’s critical for boards to promote a culture that permits ethical exploration, establishes clear guidelines, and encourages the transparent exchange of successes and insights. - Advocate Responsible AI Practices: Champion the development and implementation of ethical guidelines and practices for AI use within the organization, which requires a deep connection to one’s inner compass, coupled with empathy and compassion for the wider world. This includes considerations for data privacy, bias mitigation, and ensuring AI complements human roles, focusing on creating more just and sustainable systems.
TIPS: Explore AI Principles (ex TietoEvrys), Governance Frameworks and AI Regulations - Engage with AI Leaders and Experts: Build relationships with AI experts, both within and outside the organization, to gain deeper insights and advice on strategic AI integration and potential future directions. All requires board members effective communication skills and an appreciation for interconnectedness.TIPS: Follow Academic Leaders like Professor Ethan Mollick, Wharton, Theodoros Evgeniou, INSEAD, Dr Fei-Fei Li , Stanford, Prof Daphne Koller, Stanford
- Assess and Mitigate Risks: Work with management to identify and mitigate risks associated with AI, including technological, regulatory, reputational, and cybersecurity risks. This involves critical thinking and perspective skills for understanding the broader implications of AI technologies on the organization’s strategic objectives.TIPS:Understand the risks number 1, risk of missing out. Then also the risks around bias, transparency, the cyber amplified risk due to AI, and the ecosystem risk.
See Example of COSO AI from Deloitte - Promote AI for Strategic Advantage: Consider how AI can be leveraged to create competitive advantages, improve operational efficiencies, enhance customer experiences, and drive innovation, which requires visioning and a sense of connectedness to future generations. Ensure that the Strategic Advantage benefits key stakeholders including customers, investors, employees and the planet. Encourage strategic discussions that explore these opportunities.
TIPS: Help inspire your board colleagues and management, consider how AI will change industry, platforms, products and offerings, and bring the discussion forward.
Anticipate and Plan for AI Evolution: Boards must look beyond the current capabilities of AI, preparing for rapid advancements and ensuring the organization remains adaptable and competitive. Strategic planning should include considerations for scaling AI use and potential future impacts on the business model, workforce dynamics, and competitive landscape.
By crafting an ethical AI vision that emphasizes transparency, innovation, diversity, and human-centric design, board members actively guide their organizations’ responsible AI integration, driving long-term success. This involvement positions board members as strategic enablers, not just overseers, helping navigate AI’s impact on governance, strategy, and culture, and ensuring their organizations are future-ready.
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Find more inspiration from
Reinventing the Organization for GenAI and LLMs in MIT Sloan by Professor Ethan Mollick, Wharton
Bring Human Values to AI in HBR by Professor Theodoros Evgeniou, INSEAD and team
To Use AI tools smartly, Think like a Strategist in INSEAD Knowledge by Professor Phanish Puranam, INSEAD
Without Shared Values and Goals, Tech Regulations won’t work in INSEAD Knowledge by Professor Emeritus Ludo Van der Heyden, INSEAD and Professor Theodoros Evgeniou, INSEAD
Dynamic Board Capabilities: Developing Board Practices that Impact Corporate Renewal and Performance in Journal of Risk Management in Financial Institutions, 17(2) pp 142-160 by Engstam L, Forzelius H, Magnusson M, Torre F and Van der Heyden L (2024)
AI Leadership for Boards – The Future of Corporate Governance (book) by Torre, Teigland and Engstam
The Worlds I See (book) by Dr Fei-FEI Li
AI Leadership for Boards – As a Chatbot – Talk to me!
About Digoshen
This blog post was originally shared at the blog of Digoshen www.digoshen.com, and the blog of the Digoshen founder www.liselotteengstam.com
At Digoshen, we work hard to increase #futureinsights and help remove #digitalblindspots and #sustainabilityblindspots. We believe that Companies, Boards, and Business Leadership Teams need to understand more about the future and the digital & sustainable world to fully leverage the potential when bringing their business into the digital & more sustainable age. If you are a board member, consider joining our international board network and master programs.
Welcome to also explore the Digoshen Chatbot on AI Leadership for Boards and Boards Impact Forum, where the Digoshen Founder is the Chair.
Find a link to Digoshen Chair Liselotte Engstam Google Scholar Page
You will find more insights via Digoshen Website, and you are welcome to follow us on LinkedIn Digoshen @ Linkedin and twitter: @digoshen and founder @liseeng