How Do You Teach AI The Value Of Trust?

The transformative potential of AI is high — but so are its risks. Can embedding trust from the start help your company reap AI’s rewards?

- Cathy Cobey, Keith Strier And Jeanne Boillet

As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning proliferates, AI technologies are rapidly outpacing the organisational governance and controls that guide their use. External regulators simply can’t keep up, and enterprises are grappling with increasing demands to demonstrate sound and transparent controls that can evolve as quickly as the technology does.

As has been proven time and again in recent high-profile catastrophes, there are serious operational risks of using AI without a robust governance and ethical framework around it. Data technologies and systems can malfunction, be deliberately or accidentally corrupted and even adopt human biases. These failures have profound ramifications for security, decision-making and credibility, and may lead to costly litigation, reputational damage, customer revolt, reduced profitability and regulatory scrutiny.

THE NEED TO BUILD TRUST

Within the organisation, leaders must have confidence that their AI systems are functioning reliably and accurately, and they need to be able to trust the data being used. Yet this remains an area of concern; in our recent survey, nearly half (48 per cent) of the respondents cited a lack of confidence in the quality and trustworthiness of data as a challenge for enterprisewide AI programs.