Looking to exploit generative AI effectively? Here are three reasons your company needs a senior data executive with special collaborative powers.
While many companies appoint CAIOs, others aren’t so sure.
Insurance specialist Howden has a director of AI productivity.
This expert ensures collaboration and effective asset exploitation.
There’s a lot of debate about who should be responsible for ensuring the business makes the most out of generative AI. Some experts suggest the CIO should oversee this crucial role, while others believe the responsibility should lie with a chief data officer.
Beyond these existing roles, other experts champion the chief AI officer (CAIO), a newcomer to the C-suite who oversees key considerations, including governance, security, and identification of potential use cases.
Experts argue that the rise of the CAIO illustrates AI’s significant role in modern business. Yet not everyone believes a dedicated CAIO is necessarily the best solution to the challenges associated with implementing AI.
Last year, Kirsty Roth, chief operations and technology officer at Thomson Reuters, told me her organization doesn’t have a CAIO. «No, we’re not big on those kinds of things», she said, suggesting the inherent role of AI in her firm’s processes meant emerging technology must be considered by all staff rather than being viewed in isolation.
However, importantly, Roth also recognized that the ever-increasing significance of AI to business operations means someone senior must ensure demands for emerging tech are managed effectively: «I guess if you have nobody playing those roles, then you probably need to think about who you’ve got or how you augment your existing managers.»
So, what does this specialist do? Here are three reasons why your business needs a director of AI productivity.1. Connecting everything
Many people across other business units are confused about the different roles of technology and data teams. When Panayi joined Howden in August last year, he decided to head off that issue at the pass.
Barry Panayi: «These tools are new enough that we do need people to help with adoption.»
«The CTO and I sit next to each other, and we said very early on, let’s come up with a clear line on this, because if we don’t agree, it’s not going to be easy.
