Leaders Share Their Biggest Concerns About AI

AI is everywhere.

Sure, there are irrefutable benefits to the implementation of artificial intelligence – and there will continue to be as AI technologies continue to learn and develop. But some C-suite executives and leaders from companies of all kinds are concerned, too.

After all, the adoption of and adaptation to any new technology takes time, as does ensuring the safe and reliable use of it.

According to a recent study conducted by Insight Enterprises and The Harris Poll, almost three-quarters (72 percent) of business leaders from Fortune 500 companies plan to incorporate generative AI within the next three years. Nonetheless, about half have reservations about the deployment of it. Fifty-one percent question the quality and control, while 49 percent worry about the safety and security risks. Additionally, almost all leaders (90 percent) anticipate that generative AI will impact some roles within their organizations.

We caught up with leaders from all kinds of companies to hear about their biggest concerns surrounding the advent of artificial intelligence and the role it’ll inevitably play in their workplaces.

Here’s what they had to share.

 

? We could lose that human touch.

“My biggest concern with AI: You risk losing your own tone of voice when you become too reliant on AI for editing and adjusting your content and marketing messages,” says Hannah Schauer, Head of Enterprise Design at Ruca.

Others agree.

Lee Malcher, fractional chief marketing officer at Malcher Enterprises, says that their biggest concern surrounding AI is the “potential loss of the ‘human touch'” in customer interactions, as well.

“We’re working with brands that have a rich heritage and a personal touch to their customer relations, like Tupperware, and it’s crucial not to alienate their loyal customer base during the digital transition,” Malcher says.

To navigate this, Malcher ensures that, while leveraging AI for efficiencies and insights, there is still a strong human element involved in customer-facing interactions.

“AI should enhance human efforts, not replace them,” Malcher says.

 

? AI could take away opportunities.

Ibu Punya Mimpi, an organization that’s helping mothers in Indonesia build their businesses, uses machine learning to predict the potential income for mothers based on their behavior on the platform, as well as to help the team create more engaging courses for them.

Still, Marisa Paramita says there’s concern that “AI can take over income opportunities for underprivileged people.”

“For example, in my platform, we are encouraging Mothers in Indonesia who want to get new income streams for their families by learning new skills as freelancers (writers, content creators, voice-over talents, etc.), but right now, people already question the credibility of mothers compared to AI,” she says.

The organization is training mothers on the basics of AI both to save time and money in their businesses and to attract more work, but some levels of potential jobs are already being replaced by AI.

 

? AI could complicate legal matters.

A lot of the narrative surrounding AI is about fears of folks losing their jobs to it, says Daniel F. Deraney, Esq, Attorney at Law and owner of The Law Offices of Daniel F. Deraney.

But, within the practice of law, he says he isn’t so worried about AI replacing lawyers. After all, AI has already led to the sanction and discipline of lawyers who merely used AI for legal research, he explains.

“The Court discovered that AI had completely derived its own ‘caselaw,’ which the lawyers cited in their pleadings as support for their arguments,” he explains. “The lawyers herein are using AI as a shortcut to the actual work. In the bigger picture, to highlight a few tasks, lawyers must be capable of extremely high levels of reading comprehension, differentiation of seemingly indistinguishable language, and writing persuasively, concisely, and comprehensively.”

For that reason, he doesn’t think AI will take over, per se. But there is concern that AI will still seep into a lawyer’s workload from the client’s end – and navigating that is going to be interesting.

“My biggest concern with AI is having to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of a new client who has utilized AI to assist in their potential dispute or legal battle,” he says. “While practicing, it’s difficult enough to repair and remedy the actions of a client within their circumstances. Add AI to the picture, about which clients may have a strong opinion regarding its reliability, and it’s easier to fear how much a lawyer may have to ‘undo’ in order to get the case back on track and towards the desired result.”

 

? Security could become an issue.

“One major concern is the potential for AI algorithms to be compromised or manipulated, leading to security breaches and data leaks,” says Harman Singh, director at Cyphere, a cybersecurity services company.

“We navigate this concern by implementing robust security measures, such as regularly updating and patching our AI systems, conducting thorough vulnerability assessments, and training our staff on best practices for AI security.”

Another concern is the increasing sophistication of AI-powered cyber attacks, she says.

“As AI technology advances, so do the capabilities of malicious actors who can leverage AI for nefarious purposes,” she explains. “To address this, we stay proactive by continuously monitoring and researching emerging AI-based threats. By staying ahead of the curve, we can develop effective countermeasures and provide our clients with the necessary protection against AI-driven cyber attacks.”

 

Singh isn’t the only one who thinks so.

 

“As the founder of a software company, AI is an integral part of my business operations; however, there are indeed concerns that come with it: data privacy and security,” says Scott Wilkerson, founder of Human Design.

“AI systems often require a large amount of data for training and operation. My biggest concern is ensuring the privacy and security of this data, especially when it involves customer information.”

To navigate this, Wilkerson says his team implements robust data encryption and strict access controls, coupled with regular security audits. They also address biases in AI by applying diverse datasets for training and constantly evaluating.

 

? AI could take over roles.

“I think AI, as we see it today, will get better and better and will take over a lot of jobs, but not everything,” says Damia Fuentes, founder of Punta, a social app for digital nomads. “Just like the industrial revolution did, new jobs will be created, as well.

It’s scary, but at the same time, it’s a great future.”

That said, he adds that AI could become able to learn new things by itself, which is “a really big technical challenge that no one has explored yet.” 

“It’s going to be very challenging but not technically impossible,” he says. “When that happens, the learning curve for the AI is exponential, and no one can tell what will happen since it will be up to the AI to decide. And that’s what scares me. “

After all, AI learns, in part, from the internet, and “the internet is full of garbage and haters.” 

“I highly recommend a read about all this Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark – it talks about AI and its impact on the future of life. Some of the things in the book are already happening,” he says.

 

? The content could be poor quality.

“My biggest concerns surrounding AI in my business are possible copyright infringement and low-value content,” says Tim Connon, the founder of ParamountQuote Insurance Advisors.

Connon uses AI to write advertisements and YouTube video ads. He says it has helped by generating powerful ad copy and videos to engage and generate leads.

“I navigate those concerns by focusing on specific prompts for the AI; instead of asking it for headlines for ads or blog posts, I ask it to give me ideas or samples,” he explains. “This prompts the AI to give me several different ideas that I then convert into original headlines or content. I do the same thing with content.

Instead of asking for content to be generated, I ask AI to give me ideas for content that I then work off of. This makes AI a simple tool rather than a replacement for people.