All leaders must be involved in tech decisions

If you’re a Board Director or Executive Leader who’s spent the better half of an AI adoption workshop wondering what the hell is going on, this one’s for you.

Just like any complex field (law, medicine, physics), AI technology is an expert area that sounds complicated thanks to its industry jargon. And there’s much more to it now than just ChatGPT. Generative AI, Machine Learning, Neural Networks… it’s enough to make anyone’s head spin. And it’s moving so fast that no one is an expert.

The promise of AI in business is irresistible. And we’re rushing to take advantage of it. Rushing in a tech race that daily makes you feel even more behind. ‘Companies using AI solutions report a 15% increase in operational efficiency and productivity. Organisations with more mature AI governance frameworks experience nearly 5% higher revenue growth.’ (Deloitte) The business benefits are there but oversight is needed.

We have a long-running habit of leaving ‘tech problems to tech people.’ Handing the challenge straight to the CTO and leaving them in isolation to solve it. It's easy to let the CTO take charge when it comes to technology, but the solution then comes from one perspective - a technical one. Robust technical decisions are made by having the right brief in place. A good tech brief has perspective. Perspective on what’s the problem you’re trying to solve? What do customers need? What are the business drivers? A great tech brief ensures your CTO has all the information they need to create a tech solution that’s fit-for-purpose to be successful in your business context. Looking for growth opportunities and taking into account risks.

‘Risks associated with AI use are security vulnerabilities (86%), surveillance (83%), and privacy issues (83%). At the same time, a huge 91% of organisations surveyed are categorised as having only ‘basic’ or ‘in progress’ governance structures, indicating a significant need for improvement in AI governance practices. (Deloitte Asia Pacific 02 Dec 2024.)

The key takeout for business leaders, you don’t need to understand technology to get involved in the brief. In fact, in some cases, it’s better that you don’t. The strategic input from your expert area is what’s actually needed.

The job of a leader is to ensure the brief is complete and enables your Tech Leaders to make better tech decisions. And then back them to get it done.

How do you go about doing that? An AI Strategist helps facilitate the discussion, creating a brief that is customer-first, business-savvy, and risk-aware.