Across Australia, much of the focus to date has been on understanding the role of AI in each sector and taking those first steps towards adoption. It was a year of experimentation and exploration. But while 2023 was the year AI burst into mainstream consciousness, 2024 looks set to be a more reflective year, with Australian government regulation as consumer pressure forces businesses and IT teams to take a step back and properly analyze the ethical aspects. Implications behind the adoption of AI.
And to do that, there will be a renewed look at the way data feeds AI models and how the scientists who build the models collect and manage that data. For AI to continue its positive trajectory, 2024 must also be the year in which data governance catches up to the speed of innovation.
How CSIRO, Australia's leading agency, views AI
Australia is determined to be a leader in the development of AI. The national science agency, CSIRO, has established a National AI Centre, which organized the country's first AI Month from November 15 to December 15, 2023.
SEE: The continued rise of AI in 2024 will require Australian IT to overcome significant challenges.
One of the NAIC's key predictions for AI in 2024 is that “responsible AI and good governance will take center stage.” To achieve this, NAIC recommends that organizations focus on four key priorities:
- Better understand the role data plays in AI.
- Understand the vulnerabilities that AI opens up to data.
- Develop better processes for how data is collected.
- Develop better ways to leverage data in models.
As Jade Haar, head of data privacy and ethics at the National Australia Bank, pointed out in the NAIC predictions, there needs to be a balance between the desire to build models from large lakes of data that are simply filled with the greatest amount of data possible and governance. value and ethical obligations to collect only the data that is necessary.
“If ChatGPT has taught us anything, it's that what is commonly known as 'public' information is not the same as 'free and open' information,” NAIC quoted Haar as saying. “Buyers of AI solutions must continue to ask about data provenance and rights or simply accept the unknown. The latter are less attractive for public or regulated entities.”
Why is it a pressing emergency?
This call for a renewed focus on data governance on the path to AI adoption is timely. One of the consequences of AI last year is that now all sectors want to use it, but they can take a big risk by doing so without realizing it.
SEE: Australia's six-shield cybersecurity strategy could depend on how well the nation manages vast data sets.
For example, in its own 2024 predictions article, Australian Property Investor noted:
“AI is driving even more data acquisition, processing the endless stream of data that occurs when we design, build, buy, sell and live in our homes… Big data is also driving the transformation of industries that have been left behind. lagging behind in the adoption of digitalization. , including town councils and local governments, construction, building and logistics.”
Meanwhile, while small and medium-sized businesses have been slow to adopt AI, of those in e-commerce, more than 40% of SMBs are using AI in some way. As a Forbes Australia article highlights, AI is being pushed as a way for these companies to reach Generation Z and other “emerging” consumers. For these industries, combining customer data and artificial intelligence allows them to better target marketing and sales efforts to these customers.
The worrying thing is that data governance is often a secondary concern. Australian organizations understand that data is a risk. The depth and breadth of data breaches that have occurred in recent years have made this clear. They are also aware that the government is making efforts to increase regulation on data governance as part of its broader cybersecurity strategy.
However, despite this, the Australian Governance Institute recently found that almost 60% of organizations have boards that do not understand the organisation's data governance challenges. Additionally, emerging technologies and AI are two of the three biggest risks around data governance, the other being direct cyberattacks.
The promise of AI is to lead boards of directors and other senior executives to pressure organizations to adopt the technology without first considering the underlying data governance requirements.
WATCH: Australia has been embracing generative AI as it tries to stay ahead of the risks.
“We cannot underestimate the role of governance as we move towards the safe, responsible and ethical creation and use of AI and the protection of vital data,” Australian Governance Institute President and Chairperson, Australian Governance Institute, said in the report. Pauline Come on.
The role of IT in promoting data governance
The reality is that for AI models and applications to be successful, organizations need to make great use of their data, either by collecting large amounts of data indiscriminately or by being more specific in the data they collect and include in models. Either way, this opens data to new levels of risk, and currently, boards and executives are not necessarily prepared to meet this challenge.
This means it will fall to IT teams to uphold data governance within the organization. As enthusiasm for AI development cools in 2024, there will be a renewed focus on how organizations handle and manage ethnic data. For both regulatory and reputational reasons, IT professionals have the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and protect their organizations while delivering the benefits of IT.
