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Five Key Insights from Our First AI Leadership Forum

Jul 03, 2024 Five Key Insights from Our First AI Leadership Forum

Hosted by: Danny Cassidy – Leadership Team, Sustainability & Regulatory Innovation, Compliance & Risks


On May 30th 2024, we held our first Leadership Forum – an event focused on the advancements and implications of AI in compliance and regulatory landscapes. This is the first in a series of forums to take place, and produce some great, actionable insights!

Here are the five key insights:

1. Embrace Compliance with AI

Danny Cassidy began by emphasizing the importance of compliance in AI projects. Companies must adhere to regulations such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines to mitigate risks associated with AI deployment. This is particularly critical given the rapid advancements in AI technology, making it imperative not to get locked into a single model!

2. Blend AI with Human Expertise

Danny highlighted Compliance & Risks’ strategic decision to maintain a hybrid model, combining AI technology with human expertise. Despite AI’s capabilities, it cannot yet fully understand and manage the context of regulations. Therefore, the blend of AI with subject matter experts ensures compliance and accuracy in outputs.

3. Enhance AI Accuracy & be Mindful of AI Hallucination

To address AI’s limitations, such as AI hallucination (whereby AI generates incorrect or fabricated information), Danny shared how the team at Compliance & Risks has implemented a number of strategic actions to protect the end results from exposure AI would otherwise pose.

This was a particularly engaging conversation, gaining interest from the audience who are coming up against these challenges when looking at AI opportunities internally. Plenty of lessons learned, which went down well!

4. There are Diverse Opinions on AI-Driven Insights

Danny highlighted Compliance & Risks’ strategic vision for 2025, building on significant investments since October 2023. The future holds exciting opportunities, shaped by valuable market feedback over the years. Attendees shared a mix of enthusiasm and caution about AI.

While some executives have high expectations and are eager to move quickly, others are hesitant, preferring to rely on external experts due to the high cost of hiring AI architects and teams. This diverse perspective on AI adoption presents both challenges and opportunities as we navigate the path forward.

5. AI Can be Smartly Leveraged but Requires Guardrails

Attendees had multiple ideas for the smart leveraging of AI, with some suggestion leveraging it for sales expansion – combining product compliance with market opportunities, and providing pre-audit services to ensure ongoing regulatory adherence. Many others, from an array of backgrounds, emphasized the importance of including trade legislation and sanctions in AI’s scope to avoid compliance risks.

Conclusion

These forums are private, unrecorded educational peer sessions. We ensure that participant names and companies remain confidential and are never disclosed. However, for the benefit of the leaders interested in attending future sessions, past attendees have included the VP of Sustainability, Head of Assurance, and many more.

Our leadership forum underscores the transformative potential of AI in compliance and regulatory frameworks while highlighting the need for a balanced approach that integrates human expertise. The insights and feedback gathered will guide us in refining our AI tools and strategies, ensuring they meet the evolving needs of our customers.

We look forward to furthering these discussions with compliance leaders in our upcoming leadership forums!

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