More than 77% of companies worldwide are either using or exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI). However, when it comes to implementation and adoption, many organizations are struggling to determine where and how to best leverage AI. That’s where AI steering committees come in. These strategic groups help guide the direction, governance, and implementation of AI initiatives within an organization.
As companies increasingly adopt AI technologies, the role of steering committees is becoming more important. These committees make sure AI initiatives are directly aligned with the organization’s overall goals while managing potential risks. They also oversee security concerns, regulatory compliance, and the outlining of best practices for integrating AI with existing systems.
Forming committees for strategic AI adoption helps companies stay organized and make well-informed decisions. In this article, we’ll explore what an AI steering committee is, why your organization needs one, and the steps to take to form one.
An AI steering committee, also known as an AI advisory board, AI ethics committee, or AI governance, is a strategic group that guides the direction, governance, and implementation of AI within an organization.
This committee includes stakeholders from various departments such as IT, legal, compliance, and department heads, who are responsible for exploring and evaluating AI solutions, and making informed decisions about how to implement and operationalize them. Additionally, the committee manages potential risks, highlights security concerns, and addresses additional considerations such as cost and benefit analyses.
Wondering if you need an AI steering committee? A quick search for "examples of companies using AI with negative outcomes" will reveal a host of stories from AI implementations gone wrong.
This isn’t meant to scare you away from leveraging the power of AI. On the contrary, it highlights the importance of having an AI steering committee. Such a committee empowers your organization by highlighting the benefits and risks associated with any AI-powered tools you're considering implementing, enabling you to make informed decisions.
That said, if you’re feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of adopting AI, you’re not alone. Many organizations struggle with the logistics, including whether to buy or build an AI solution. Questions such as, “Should we buy or build a solution?” and “If we opt to buy, should it be a point solution for a specific use case or department, or a company-wide solution?” often arise.
Since each department has its own use cases and agendas, an AI steering committee can help identify various needs, prioritize the most important ones, and reduce redundancy and waste when purchasing a solution. Plus, it mitigates the risk of negative outcomes such as bias, data privacy issues, security vulnerabilities, and misalignment with business goals. Without careful management, these issues can result in legal repercussions, loss of customer trust, and wasted resources.
An AI steering committee can cover many bases, depending on an organization’s specific needs and goals. That said, generally, the committee will focus on four key areas:
Let’s dive into each element in detail!
Identifying use cases: Where does it make the most sense to leverage AI in your business? For example, would an AI platform that provides support reps with instant access to up-to-date information, reduces customer wait times, and increases customer satisfaction be beneficial? Or how about a platform that enables sales reps to personalize their outreach to thousands of prospects in a fraction of the time required for manual research?
An AI steering committee will work to understand where there are current gaps or challenges in the business that can either be solved or improved with the implementation of AI.
Identifying business problems and outcomes: This goes hand-in-hand with identifying the use cases. It’s all about aligning the implementation of AI with specific, measurable goals. For example, if your organization has a mandate to increase customer retention by reducing churn by 20%, then an AI tool like a customer sentiment analysis platform may be leveraged to identify at-risk customers and personalize engagement strategies. The aim here is to find AI-powered solutions that address actual business needs.
Governance: Once you figure out the use cases and specific challenges you want to solve with the implementation of AI, the steering committee will oversee the project and set clear guidelines around AI usage, such as establishing protocols for data handling and usage permissions. It will also work to implement ethical AI practices by setting standards for transparency and fairness in AI algorithms.
Security, privacy, and compliance: On an ongoing basis, this committee will work to address any data security concerns, such as protecting against unauthorized access to sensitive information. It will maintain compliance with relevant regulations, keeping policies up to date with changes in laws like GDPR or CCPA. It will also make sure user privacy is not at risk by implementing data anonymization techniques, outlining permission settings, and conducting regular audits so that privacy standards are always adhered to.
Now that you know what an AI steering committee is and why you need one, let’s discuss the steps you can take to form one.
Organizational change happens from the top down, so when it comes to forming your committee, it’s important to get executive sponsorship for AI. To do this successfully, you’ll need to walk your executives through the importance of having this committee in place. Highlight the benefits, such as improved decision making and risk management, as well as the risks of not having one, like potential data breaches or compliance issues.
Some ways to get executive buy-in include:
When it comes to assembling your team, you should ensure you have a breadth of relevant knowledge at the table. The key is to identify and involve stakeholders from various departments such as IT, data science, legal, compliance, and business unit leaders. You want to make sure your governance committee covers the technical, legal, and business aspects of your organization so that cross-functional knowledge sharing happens regularly.
Clearly outline the missions and objectives of the committee. Set clear roles and responsibilities by defining who is responsible for decision-making, implementation, monitoring, and reporting. This provides structure and clarity, making sure everyone understands their part in the AI strategy.
Your AI roadmap should include both short- and long-term AI initiatives.
Examples include:
Alongside the roadmap, it’s important to set milestones and success metrics such as user internal adoption rates, cost savings, and improved CSAT scores, allowing progress to be measurable and aligned with business goals.
Create policies and guidelines for AI projects, such as ethical AI usage policies, data handling protocols, and model validation procedures. This helps with establishing a monitoring and evaluation system, making certain AI projects adhere to standards and best practices.
As AI continues to evolve, it’s important to build a culture where collaboration and continuous improvement are the norm. This is important because it encourages innovation and keeps the organization competitive. Part of this means regularly reviewing and refining AI strategies, making certain they remain effective and aligned with the latest tech advancements and business needs.
Creating an AI steering committee isn’t always a straightforward process. Be prepared to face resistance when it comes to getting C-suite buy-in and support, and have adequate resources and budget to support not just the committee, but also the ensuing AI initiatives.
Determining who should be involved can also be a challenge because different departments have varying priorities and workloads. Certain stakeholders may not have the capacity to participate fully, or others may lack the necessary expertise.
In addition, it can be hard to consider all perspectives, establish clear roles and responsibilities, and put forth effective compliance frameworks that actually work because of the complexity and rapidly changing nature of AI technologies and regulations.
To overcome these challenges, the organization should prioritize open communication, offer ongoing training, and make sure all stakeholders understand the strategic importance of AI initiatives.
The bottom line? Companies with a dedicated AI team will be able to harness the full potential of AI while mitigating risks. In other words, can any organization truly afford to not have this committee in place?
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