Artificial intelligence can be transformative. It can offer increased efficiency, boosted innovation and serious cost savings. But to realize those benefits, CEOs need to take an active hand in making sure the company has the right in-house talent, the right vendors and the right data.

What’s the best way to go about this? Stephanie Palazzolo, reporter for the Information, partnered with Cognizant to discuss best practices with three data and AI experts:

Badhrinath Krishnamoorthy, markets head, digital and technology solutions—communications, media and technology, Cognizant
Wendy Batchelder, chief data officer, Salesforce
Sean Stauth, global director of AI and machine learning, Qlik

Starting From the Top: Why CEOs Need to Take Charge of AI Efforts

Palazzolo opened up the conversation by asking each of the panelists what the biggest mistakes are that CEOs make with generative AI.

Sean Stauth of Qlik said one issue he sees is a lack of preparation. “The mistake is thinking that this technology isn’t going to change the entire dynamics of business. Organizations need to put together their strategy now, start experimenting and understanding which parts of the organization can really benefit.”

Wendy Batchelder of Salesforce agreed, and added that a strong AI initiative needs to be backed up with an equally strong data strategy. “It’s so important to have your arms around what data you have, how it should be classified and if it should even be used for AI purposes.”

Badhrinath Krishnamoorthy of Cognizant believes CEOs should seize the moment: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for enterprises to pivot and change. I think CEOs have an active role to play in this—and [should] not just delegate it to other leaders.”

Tied Down by Red Tape

The efficiencies created by AI are clear. So why have some CEOs been hesitant about the technology? Is it the fear of generative AI taking over humanity?

Krishnamoorthy doesn’t believe it’s about a threat to people; rather, it’s the threat of overwhelming bureaucracy. “I think sometimes the privacy complaints and the red tape dominate the conversation. Typically, these are the things that slow people down.”

Trust Should Evolve as AI Technology Evolves

Palazzolo cited a recent interview with Salesforce’s Marc Benioff where he said that AI could be the ultimate liar. And certainly one of AI’s biggest weaknesses is inaccuracy. Is there any way to increase trust in this type of technology?

Batchelder believes that building trust starts at the source: the data. “Is the data accurate and protected? Are we ensuring that the privacy of that data is of utmost importance? This should be the cornerstone of your data strategy.”

AI does occasionally create untruths. Stauth said, “AI technology isn’t built for accuracy, at least not yet. It’s content generation.” He suggested that the technology still requires human intervention to detect false information. “There has to be a skilled workforce that has the art and understanding to recognize when AI is creating inaccuracies.”

Best-Use Cases for Business

Palazzolo asked the panelists about real-life examples that show the positive impact of generative AI. Krishnamoorthy talked about combining knowledge harvesting with AI. He noted that knowledge harvesting has been around a long time in the form of customer surveys and medical journals. “A lot of our engineering group are now saying the technology can improve the productivity of engineers by complementing them with generative AI capability. Marketing is also a place where there’s a significant impact because AI is content generation, and in marketing, content is king.”

Batchelder added that generative AI can improve people’s skills—and make their working lives better. “It can really speed up the process of finding the highest-quality data. And it can maximize a person’s potential and even make their job more enjoyable because they’re not spending a lot of time hunting for data they need to do their job.” Instead, employees can turn their minds to solving larger problems.

Stauth noted that the technology can be transformative for businesses. “It enables organizations to completely rethink what’s possible across their entire workforce. AI just enables them to gain so many more skills, more context, more knowledge, more relevance that ultimately benefits the business in very profound ways.”

Think Ahead

All the panelists agreed that the best thing CEOs can do is to prepare for the future. Anticipate regulations. Continuously upskill the workforce. And finally, create internal ethics guidelines for how data should and shouldn’t be used. Only then will businesses realize the efficiencies AI can unlock, helping them stay ahead of the competition.