I am the former CEO of a 12 billion dollars health care company and I have many tips. Ai deserves a seat at the table

Although annecdotal, this survey of directors shows both the limits and potential of the AI ​​to help the boards of directors. The use of AI for the collection and analysis of information is not widespread between the advice. However, there are indications that this trend has repercussions within the framework of the global breakthrough that the AI ​​transforms into organizations, from the mail hall to the conference room.

There is a massive potential for AI to modify the fundamental way in which an organization is managed. Almost 80% of companies in a recent McKinsey survey said that they used AI in areas such as workflows, business processes and data generation and analysis. The advice already spends more time and attention to discussing the use of AI within their organizations, including more than 62% of the administrators who have declared that they have participated in discussions on AI policies for their companies.

Now the question becomes how members of the board of directors can use this technology – efficiently and ethically. As a member of the longtime board of directors and former president and CEO of a health care company of $ 12 billion, I am optimistic about AI as a contributor to problem solving and decision -making. Such capacities increase the probability that boards of directors and management teams will adopt this technology – not to replace human judgment, but as a tool that allows more informed decision.

Increase in the Board of Directors

AI has the potential to help members of the board of directors become more competent and better equipped to engage in discussions with management on challenges, opportunities, strategy and operational issues. Its greatest contribution to the administrators could be to complete the “council package” provided throughout the year by the company to summarize recent performance, new developments, competitive challenges and potential acquisitions. The members of the board of directors should read and digest this information before the next meeting so that they can ask questions of management and engage in a discussion. This information, however, is provided to the board of directors by the company, which, by necessity, implies a degree of filtering to decide the quantity of details required and the depth of the discussion.

Open, honest and transparent information – well enough for a significant discussion without flooding the administrators with details – is a cornerstone to maintain a relationship of trust between the board of directors and management. As a member of the board of directors told me when I became CEO for the first time of Baxter International, “never surprise me, Harry. I don’t want to drive my car and hear news on Baxter on the radio that I was not aware of. ”

However, even with the best intentions, management cannot inform members of the board of directors on all economic, geopolitical or operational problems with an impact on the company. In addition, it can be tempting that management focuses more on what is going well, rather than presenting the board of directors some of the important problems with which the company is faced. In an increasingly complex world, the members of the board of directors must assume more responsibilities to achieve and deepen their understanding of the many sides of a problem – cultivating a balanced perspective which is crucial for the leadership based on values. In these activities, new generation AI tools can be of great help.

Consider the example of a company that weighs on the impact of American prices on goods imported from China and the potential to transfer production to places elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The trade negotiations evolving quickly, prices are offered, canceled and changed quickly in the region. Quick and concise nurse requests can help members of the board to aggregate information on the current state of prices and commercial discussions. With a few strikes, members of the board of directors may also have an overview of the impact of other industries and the production decisions they make.

The human part is delicate

A tool, however, is as good as the user. As a colleague from the Kellogg School of Management of the Northwestern University, Mohan Sawhney, the technological aspect of the use of AI is relatively easy; “It is rather the human part that you really have to be careful, because if you do not think of humans, the machines will not think of you.”

There can often be an enormous educational requirement to help members of the board of directors become more comfortable using AI. The average age of the members of the board of directors of a company S&P 500 is 63 years, many of whom are used up to 70 years – which means that they are hardly digital natives. In addition, as anyone who has used a generative AI know, the quality of the answer received depends a lot on the quality of the question asked. This will require much more than one hour presentation by a consultant to the board of directors. What is necessary is a training that will help directors to put this tool into practice, with considerations concerning ethical use, such as not disclosing confidential information of the company while posing a request for AI.

While the business landscape continues to evolve, companies and their advice must keep the pace of change. The members of the board of directors can better serve shareholders and exercise their fiduciary tasks by learning to use all the tools, including AI – at their disposal.

The opinions expressed in the Fortune.com comments are only the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and the beliefs of Fortune.

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