Two AFR articles caught our eye in the past week – On 1 Feb, it was reported tha
t ASIC Chair Joe Longo is calling for AI (Artifical Intelligence) laws specifically for the financial services sector, and the very next day, it reported that Productivity Commission Prof Stephen King is worried that ‘overzealous’ laws could limit AI’s economic benefits.
This ‘devil’ and ‘angel’ polarisation reflects the speed of change and our limited general AI knowledge. But this isn’t stopping AI discussions from happening within organisations. At the Board and executive levels, opportunity is being discussed alongside governance, risk management and control processes. And most staff have at least dabbled with AI and some are hooked on the productivity gains.
Where does IA fit in this exploding AI world? Like any area of a business where you give assurance, you need to be able to assess the related GRC elements. Further, under the new Global Internal Audit Standards, CAEs should aim to provide insight and foresight in their work. This is incredibly challenging in a rapidly shifting landscape. For this reason, IIA will focus on raising the discussion to help members navigate a path to success. See SOPAC for our next instalment.
The final comment for those thinking AI won’t impact them also comes courtesy of the AFR in a Letter to the Editor entitled ‘Can Swift save humanity from the dark side of AI? Even the powerful marketing machine behind Taylor Swift and the clever security algorithms of social media site X failed to prevent AI-generated deep fake images of the artist from circulating – one image alone was viewed 45 million times before it could be taken down.
How are you preparing yourself for this new world full of AI, good and evil?
One response to “The devil and angel of AI”
Of concern, are the implications of feeding or granting IA tools access to data that may overlap with personal information protection laws.
Guidance is perhaps needed as to which tools are reliable and offer the most value. I think training or links to reliable training should be offered on how to use some of these tools.