LEADERS FACE MAJOR ETHICAL QUESTIONS ON AI—AND THE ANSWERS THEY COME UP WITH MATTER

Abstract

The author, CEO and founder of Kirkham IronTech, writes about the responsibility of executives to prioritize data security within their organizations, especially in our still-new age of generative artificial intelligence. “In recent years,” he writes, “AI has shifted from being a futuristic novelty toy to an essential tool for teams and individuals.” He discusses AI tools such as ChatGPT that have become known and widely used since 2022, but also companies that are less familiar to leaders beyond the tech industry, such as Dataiku, BigID, and Polygraf AI. The concept of ethics comes into play when executives make decisions about how to receive, store, and send out data, as he notes the “often-overlooked ethical responsibility for senior leaders, a responsibility to ensure that their organizations adopt AI in a way that respects privacy, maintains security, and protects both employees and customers/end users.” All of this relates to his own executive work, as he founded the firm twenty five years ago “to help leaders improve Information Technology/IT processes, improve the customer experience, and reduce or eliminate the costs associated with managing and training internal personnel for IT management and cyber defense.”