What Questions Should Board Directors Ask About AI? 50 questions which C-level executives should be able to answer about AI

Stephen J. Smith; Kenneth P. Morse

Authors

Stephen J. Smith G7 Research LLC Author
Kenneth P. Morse Entrepreneurship Ventures, Inc. Author

Keywords:

AI Governance, Board Director, Board of Directors, AI Strategy, C-Suite, AI Competency

Abstract

There has never been a technology as potentially disruptive to long-term business strategies as AI. It is pervasive, and it is powerful, and corporate boards of directors are worried. They are the ones responsible for holding their CEOs accountable for the business’s long-term strategy and AI is the most important disruption they’ve ever faced. It is a scary place to be for both directors and denizens of the C-suite. But it does not have to be. With proper planning and some well-asked questions, all companies can be prepared to stay ahead of the competition in the AI race. This paper provides a checklist of fifty or so of those key questions that board directors should pose to the C-suite. If they are thoughtfully answered, the board, the CEO, and the company will be ready to drive the AI disruption, rather than being driven and disrupted by it.

Author Biographies

Stephen J. Smith, G7 Research LLC

Steve Smith is the Chief Executive Officer of G7 Research LLC, a provider of AI-powered educational solutions. Steve has been working in the field of artificial intelligence since the 1980s and has published two books with McGraw-Hill on the business applications of AI. He currently advises Fortune 500 companies on how to launch AI Accelerators to quickly build AI competence and deliver improved product.
Kenneth P. Morse, Entrepreneurship Ventures, Inc.

Ken Morse is Chairman & CEO at Entrepreneurship Ventures Inc. which convenes an experienced team of practitioners and serial entrepreneurs to deliver Entrepreneurial Skills Development workshops and coaching programs for ambitious entrepreneurs in Colombia, Canada, Europe, Turkey, the Middle East (Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE), Pakistan, and New Zealand. Previously Ken served as Founding Managing Director of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center (1996 – 2009). He conceived and led the week-long MIT Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP), which over the past 20+ years has trained more than 2000 global entrepreneurs in an intensive on-campus executive education program.