As businesses adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) on a larger scale, experts suggest that the adoption of AI lacks effective governance. The annual global study by IBM of 3,000 CEOs from over 30 countries and 26 industries reveals a high importance placed by Indian CEOs on AI governance, with 71 percent of those surveyed saying trusted AI is impossible without effective AI governance in organisations.
According to the World Economic Forum, AI’s transformative power can lead to shared economic prosperity, more fulfilling jobs, and increased personal time. However, the absence of comprehensive governance frameworks can take things on a wrong turn. Without a proper AI governance, there is an increased risk of ethical issues such as bias, discrimination and unfair treatment within AI systems. This lack of oversight may result in unintended consequences and reinforce societal inequalities.
Case in point, in 2023, Samsung faced a major incident when sensitive code data was leaked through an AI-powered tool, highlighting the dangers of unchecked AI deployment and the critical need for stringent governance. This is what unregularised AI can do.
AI adoption market
So, what does the AI adoption market look like and what are the loopholes when it comes to the effective adoption of AI? The study noted a contrast in actual adoption of AI governance policies with only 42 percent Indian CEO respondents saying they have good generative AI governance in place today. This might be because people in the organisation aren’t sure of exactly what they’re being asked to do. Another reason could be that in terms of adoption speed, only 58 percent of Indian CEOs are pushing for faster Gen AI adoption where only a few staff are comfortable with. This could only be reduced by educating and creating awareness about the safe use of AI with effective governance.
In addition to this the IBM report also highlighted more loopholes in AI adoption. Given below are some of the other key findings:
- People and skills are at the heart of successful generative AI adoption.
- Indian CEOs recognise it takes a cultural shift to successfully scale AI, but face organisational collaboration and adoption challenges.
- Customer experience and product & service innovation are top priorities, regulatory constraints might be hindering long-term progress
Industry reacts
Industry experts suggest that as generative AI gains traction and becomes more mainstream, companies need to put in policies for self-regulation on its usage to ensure ethical use of AI. “Guardrails are an absolute must in this case, as non-adherence may lead to biases and use of unsuitable AI models. The responsibility of putting in a strong governance framework for usage of AI would lie with the company leadership and not just the internal IT department,” Devroop Dhar, co-founder and managing director, Primus Partners, explained.
“To bridge the gap, Indian CEOs should establish clear guidelines on data usage, ensure compliance with privacy regulations, and set up oversight mechanisms. Creating dedicated AI governance teams and fostering a culture of transparency can also drive successful implementation,” Ravinder Goyal, tech co-founder of Erekrut, said.
“Governance is not merely a regulatory checkbox but a foundational element for responsible and impactful AI deployment. Robust governance frameworks ensure ethical standards, data integrity, and transparency, fostering trust and driving sustainable innovation,” Lokesh Nigam, CEO and co-founder, Konverz.ai, highlighted.
Critics argue that AI can be used against AI as “Companies can use AI algorithms to detect and prevent biased data, implement technologies to detect and counter deepfakes, and ensure critical evaluation of AI decisions to avoid overreliance. Additionally, AI-driven threat detection systems can lower the barrier for cyber criminals by identifying and neutralising threats in real-time,” Aditya P S, chairman, Terraeagle Technologies, concluded.
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