Author: Michelle Morley, Head of Programmes
Having attended the IoD Mid-Term Breakfast Event on ‘Rise of the Machines – What does AI Mean for Business and Boards in 2023?' this morning, I thought I should reflect on what I learned. It is a fascinating topic which was certainly brought to life by keynote speaker Dr Alex Connock from the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
AI is undoubtedly a huge opportunity and one that will affect almost every profession, as it learns to take action from past data and makes huge inroads with tasks such as streamlining daily processes, analysing upcoming trends, forecasting growth, and predicting outcomes.
With opportunity however comes risk, and this was even identified by the ‘fourth member’ of this morning’s panel, ChatGPT, who listed concerns around AI to include Ethics, Privacy, Security, Job displacement, and Bias. The importance of human judgement in these areas cannot be underestimated.
It was also reassuring to hear that there are some skills where humans will always perform better than AI, such as intuition, creativity, empathy, building relationships, making difficult decisions, and setting strategic direction. These are therefore areas in which we need to continue to develop ourselves and our teams and so please do get in touch with the GTA if you would like further information on the wide range of personal development courses we offer.