CEOs should take lead in AI adoption — expert

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS (CEOs) should take the lead in the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in organizations, according to a PwC executive.

Scott Likens, global AI and innovation technology leader at PwC United States, said CEOs should show how AI is making operations better and “not taking their jobs.”

“CEOs are still pretty positive that they have to bring the whole workforce along… No matter what function in your business, AI could be an accelerator to what you do,” he said at the Management Association of the Philippines’ (MAP) 22^nd International CEO Conference on Sept. 10.

However, the increasing use of AI has workers on the edge due to fears of job displacement, he said.

“But the more (workers) use it, and I can tell you this, we rolled this out to almost 200,000 of our employees around the world, the more people use it, the more they see this helps them every day,” Mr. Likens said.

Mr. Likens said developments in AI are not going to slow down in the future, and that CEOs should take the lead in the use of AI.

“If you’re waiting to see what happens, good luck with that strategy. If you’re not shaping your workforce, AI is now available to everyone. Don’t wait. Bring them along. Give them those superpowers. Show them that this is accretive to everything they do. And I think you’ll be shocked at what you see,” he said.

But before starting their AI journey, Mr. Likens said firms should come up with a responsible AI strategy first.

“The first step is responsible AI. Putting a strategy around how we’re going to do it responsibly and what parts of the business will have the most impact is the first step. Before you get any technology, you have to understand where it can accelerate or provide a solution,” he said.

Mr. Likens said AI is not “magic” and does not solve all problems.

To ensure that AI is used responsibly in the decision-making process without amplifying biases, humans should always be in the loop.

“The human expert should always be the one making the judgment. The AI should be supporting them with details and understanding,” Mr. Likens said.

For leaders to determine the appropriate level of investment in AI for their organization, Mr. Likens said it is contingent on the industry and the opportunities available but should always be guided by their business strategy.

“The investment should follow. I don’t think AI should be an investment on its own. I think it should be related to the business strategy. It’s not AI on its own,” he said.

A survey conducted by PwC Philippines in partnership with MAP showed that 40% of the CEOs in the country said that they have already adopted generative AI (GenAI).

The survey also showed 71% believe that GenAI will change how their companies create, deliver, and capture value.

TIKTOK’S AI-POWERED TOOLS
“As a technology platform and entertainment platform, we have been intentionally investing our time, energy, talent, and resources in this AI space in the past few years,” Matty Lin, general manager for Global Business Solutions for Southeast Asia at TikTok said during the MAP International CEO Conference.

To meet the demand for content, Mr. Lin said adopting GenAI solutions is key but human insight still plays a front-and-center role.

“Forty percent of TikTok users want to see AI-generated content on the platform. On the other hand, they also expect us, the platform, as well as all advertisers and brands to be transparent if what they see is AI-modified content,” he said.

Mr. Lin said the company plans to launch an AI media literacy campaign and begin adding Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) Content Credentials to TikTok content.

This technology attaches metadata to a piece of content that indicates it was created with AI. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante