PAULA MARCELLE-IRISH
The jury is still out on the effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on business.
Tools like ChatGPT offer significant time and cost savings for research and creating standard communications and content.
AI software enables businesses to analyse large amounts of data and perform calculations much faster, more accurately and affordably than humans.
However, without careful and responsible human oversight, relying solely on large language models for data-intensive tasks can pose risks.
Many AI models are known to be flawed, as they can perpetuate biases, replicate errors and even generate inaccurate information. This raises concerns about potential reputational damage, as evidenced by Google pausing its AI tool Gemini owing to inaccuracies in historical depictions generated by the model.
There is a genuine concern among employees that AI could replace their jobs.
Our recent ACCA Global Talent Trends report indicates that many employees feel threatened and left behind by technological advancements.
This concern is echoed in conversations with members across various sectors and businesses, highlighting that the potential impact of AI is widespread across different industries and companies of all sizes.
Undoubtedly, AI has already become deeply entrenched in business operations, indicating that its presence is here to stay.
The key question then becomes: How can we ensure that AI continues to be a force for good, benefiting both business and society, rather than posing a threat? How do we establish ethical oversight to ensure that humans, not AI, remain central to decision-making in business?
This is a pressing concern for ACCA and for professional accountants, who often act as custodians of a business's financial data.
We dedicated a whole section of our recent report, Risk Cultures in Banking: Where Next? to examining the potential risks associated with AI.
This is also the reason why ACCA continues to advocate for governments and policymakers to prioritise ethics, transparency and sound governance in their AI policies.
ACCA emphasises that ensuring transparency in the use of AI is crucial for its long-term viability and value, as well as for its benefit to society as a whole. This transparency should include clear explanations of how AI systems make decisions, what data they use and how they are trained and tested. By fostering transparency, stakeholders can better understand and trust AI systems, leading to more responsible and ethical AI use.
Our research has identified six issues that require attention from both businesses and governments:
– A lack of transparency and trust hinders AI adoption.
– The ability to mitigate bias and discrimination.
– Privacy and security of data.
– An absence of legal and regulatory frameworks – for issues such as liability and copyright.
– Inaccuracy and misinformation.
– The magnification effect/unintended consequences – one single AI mistake could be much more serious than human error.
To navigate this complex la
