The C-Suite Expands to Include a Chief AI Officer

Whether your company is ready or not, artificial intelligence is on the way.

The long-term impact of AI on the workforce is still something of a mystery, but with speculation about substantial job impacts and upending long-standing procedures, virtually every industry is now hustling to expand its C-suite to include someone to oversee the technology’s integration into the workplace.

More often than not, that means the creation of a Chief AI Officer (CAIO) position. But qualifications vary by industry and company—and many companies are discovering that finding someone who’s well suited for the post is particularly challenging.

That, perhaps, shouldn’t be all that surprising. Demand for experts in artificial intelligence has never been higher. The scramble to build AI teams means demand greatly outpaces the supply of qualified candidates, which, in some cases, has sent salaries soaring.

So finding someone who not only has the business expertise and acumen to assume a C-level position but also has the necessary knowledge of AI isn’t easy. On top of that, many companies are still uncertain how they will incorporate or invest in AI. Just 27% of 3,400 C-suite execs said their companies are ready to scale up with generative AI in a recent Accenture survey .

Chief AI officers, while they need to be very familiar with the technology, generally aren’t data scientists. Instead, most companies are looking for leaders who can figure out how best to apply AI tools in different parts of the business. Strategic thinking is a key skill—and they’ll need to know the nuances of the company, so best to determine how to overlay AI.

Included among the duties widely associated with the role are:

• The ability to partner with businesses on AI initiatives
• Developing and implementing AI policies that factor in both legal and risk/compliance issues
• Overseeing the design, testing, adaptation and deployment of AI technologies into the company
• Measuring the impact of any AI roll-out from both a personnel and business point of view, delivering quantifiable results to the CEO

While it is possible to tack some of these duties onto your CTO or another tech leadership position, that’s at best a band-aid. AI is something that will impact much more than the operational systems of a company. It will affect hiring, employee training and long-term vision. And there are industry-specific hurdles that will arise along the way.

The Mayo Clinic in Arizona, for instance, has named Dr. Bhavik Patel, a radiologist who specializes in AI, to the Chief AI officer role, in part because he coordinated the technology with the medical facility, piloting an AI model that looks at hidden data in ultrasounds, resulting in a prompter diagnosis of a rare heart condition.

Having a CAIO on board not only helps the company prepare for the adoption of artificial intelligence into its workings, it also signals to investors and the world that the business is neither ignoring the paradigm shift that is beginning to occur, nor is it rushing into the fray without studying the best possible course of action.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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Artificial Intelligence Leadership