What CFOs need to know about gen AI risk /
Kenney, Andrew
What CFOs need to know about gen AI risk / Andrew Kenney - Vol 237 (6) pages 30-35 : illustrations ; 28 cm
Generative Al has potential for many capabilities among them having conversations, analyzing documents, writing memos, and providing advice on solving interpersonal probiems. These are all in response to plain-language prompts from the user. At the same time, though, the technology's inner workings remain poorly understood. And when it fails, it often does so in bizarre and unpredictable ways. Those errors can disrupt workflows, frustrate users, and even result in factual errors and "hallucina-tions" that could mar a company's work product or reputation. For example, in February, the generative Al tool ChatGPT started acting strangely. According to IT news and reviews website Ars Technica, when one person asked if dogs can safely eat cereal, ChatGPT replicd, "Always consider the makings of any food nabs from the chug can to your hounds' refigure, as even non-toxic or small fang to hound-mark bitsy can weave into skin-speaks, dance or merryl, as waters to wave to a listen and care from you." The incident was resolved within a matter of hours and ChatGPT abandoned its bizarre ramblings and returned to normal. But it was a stark reminder that, for all its promise, generative Al is a work in progress.
"Generative Al is still not at the maturity level yet. It's still evolving. It's evolving at a very rapid scale — and it's being adopted at a very rapid scale as well," said Keheliya Amarasinghe, ACMA, CGMA, manager, IT business partnering, at Fortude, where he has helped to implement generative Al tools at the Brandix Group of apparel companies in Sri Lanka.
This contrast poses a conundrum for CFOs and other business leaders. Will they embrace generative Al's potential for increasing efficiency and extending the cognitive power of workers? Or will they err on the side of caution, waiting for the technology to develop further?
In interviews for this article, finance leaders arounc the world shared their insights about the risks of emergent Al technology and the specific mitigation strategies they're using as they step into this new technological era.
0021-8448
Technology
What CFOs need to know about gen AI risk / Andrew Kenney - Vol 237 (6) pages 30-35 : illustrations ; 28 cm
Generative Al has potential for many capabilities among them having conversations, analyzing documents, writing memos, and providing advice on solving interpersonal probiems. These are all in response to plain-language prompts from the user. At the same time, though, the technology's inner workings remain poorly understood. And when it fails, it often does so in bizarre and unpredictable ways. Those errors can disrupt workflows, frustrate users, and even result in factual errors and "hallucina-tions" that could mar a company's work product or reputation. For example, in February, the generative Al tool ChatGPT started acting strangely. According to IT news and reviews website Ars Technica, when one person asked if dogs can safely eat cereal, ChatGPT replicd, "Always consider the makings of any food nabs from the chug can to your hounds' refigure, as even non-toxic or small fang to hound-mark bitsy can weave into skin-speaks, dance or merryl, as waters to wave to a listen and care from you." The incident was resolved within a matter of hours and ChatGPT abandoned its bizarre ramblings and returned to normal. But it was a stark reminder that, for all its promise, generative Al is a work in progress.
"Generative Al is still not at the maturity level yet. It's still evolving. It's evolving at a very rapid scale — and it's being adopted at a very rapid scale as well," said Keheliya Amarasinghe, ACMA, CGMA, manager, IT business partnering, at Fortude, where he has helped to implement generative Al tools at the Brandix Group of apparel companies in Sri Lanka.
This contrast poses a conundrum for CFOs and other business leaders. Will they embrace generative Al's potential for increasing efficiency and extending the cognitive power of workers? Or will they err on the side of caution, waiting for the technology to develop further?
In interviews for this article, finance leaders arounc the world shared their insights about the risks of emergent Al technology and the specific mitigation strategies they're using as they step into this new technological era.
0021-8448
Technology