BH Compliance and Centro de Gobierno Corporativo UC held the third session of their corporate governance Debate Series, titled “The board that didn’t understand in time: AI Governance and adoption.”
The session opened with remarks from Susana Sierra, CEO of BH Compliance, and was moderated by Alejandra Wood, Executive Director of Centro de Gobierno Corporativo UC. The panel featured board directors Carmen Román, Hernán Orellana, and Luis Hernán Paúl.
The discussion also included an audience Q&A, which provided an opportunity to explore topics such as employment, cybersecurity, technology governance, AI agents, and the challenges associated with adopting these technologies across different types of organizations.
AI Must Serve the Strategy
- AI adoption should support specific business objectives rather than be driven simply by the latest trend.
- Boards must define how AI should be used, how its impact will be measured, and what level of risk the organization is willing to assume.
AI Literacy Is a Board Responsibility
- Board members do not need to be technical experts, but they do need to understand the potential and risks associated with these tools.
- Continuous learning was identified as essential for board members to fulfill their responsibilities effectively in a rapidly changing environment.
Governance and Ethics Are Essential
- AI requires clear policies, defined criteria for its use, and clearly assigned responsibilities.
- Panelists emphasized the importance of overseeing issues such as privacy, data protection, algorithmic bias, and transparency in automated decision-making.
Change Management Is as Important as Technology
- One of the greatest challenges for organizations will be supporting people as processes and roles evolve.
- The discussion addressed the need to train teams and effectively manage AI’s impact on employment and the skills that will be required in the future.
Risk Management Requires Active Oversight
- Panelists highlighted risks related to information confidentiality, the use of unauthorized tools, data protection, and algorithmic bias.
- Against this backdrop, they emphasized the importance of boards asking the right questions and maintaining active oversight of how these technologies are used.
Inaction Is Also a Risk
- The panelists noted that waiting too long to address AI could undermine an organization’s competitiveness.
- They emphasized that the key challenge for boards is to act with a sense of urgency, while doing so responsibly and in alignment with long-term strategy.
In closing, the panel underscored that AI governance is not about mastering every technical aspect of the technology. Rather, it is about asking the right questions, establishing appropriate controls, and ensuring that AI contributes to sustainable value creation for the organization.
In an environment of accelerating change, learning, engaging, and acting in a timely manner are becoming part of boards’ fiduciary duties.
