The panel explores the developing capabilities of generative AI and ethical considerations.The moderators, Raquel Brigham Brown & Brandon Krueger, Esq., and panelists bring varying lines of sight, AI expertise & experience to the dialogue. A college professor shares her field research using AI to expand access to legal services. A Microsoft tech executive provides a look ‘under the hood.’ Ethics and Contingency Fee attorneys share their hopes and fears, and a governance leader reflects on the impact on society, customers, and the public- going beyond the mandate to do no harm to the goal of adding value.
Through the dialogue board governance takeaways emerged:
- Transparency as a guiding principle:err on the side of over-communicating
- AI is simply a technology
- AI is not omniscient. It requires human direction, training, review, confirmation & correction
- There are a range of AI technologies & applications with unique risks & reward profiles
- Traditional ethical, security & privacy risks & unintended consequences can be exacerbated by AI
- Understanding the organization’s business model is a prerequisite to identifying use case scenarios
- Seek education and guidance from vendors before and during policy & guidance development and implementation
- Customized applications often yield the greatest return and minimize risk factors
- Digital natives view personal data as the gateway to access
- AI technology is rapidly evolving- most effective guidance and policy provide an overarching framework as a ‘stake in the ground’
As an entry point to explore AI through the lens and application of human capital, I recommend boards read, The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted & Fired & Why We Need to Fight Back, by Hilke Schellmann. The content is thought-provoking and can serve as a platform for boards to unpack AI broadly.
My advice based on my experience and the panel dialogue is for boards to learn, learn, and learn about AI from a 30,000-foot perspective as a prerequisite for initiating policy and best practices deliberations.