Business leaders need to create value by using AI in human-centered and responsible ways, says De Cremer, author and the Dunton Family Dean of the D'Amore-McKim School of Business and professor of management and technology at Northeastern University
David De Cremer, Dunton Family Dean of the D'Amore-McKim School of Business and professor of management and technology at Northeastern University
David De Cremer is the Dunton Family Dean of the D'Amore-McKim School of Business and professor of management and technology at Northeastern University. He is also the author of Leadership by Algorithm: Who leads and who follows in the AI era? and The AI Savvy Leader: 9 ways to take back control and make AI work. In an interview with Forbes India, he explains why leaders need to steer AI-driven transformation instead of delegating it to tech experts. Edited excerpts:
Q. What’s the leadership challenge with respect to AI adoption?
Organisations consider not using AI to be the biggest risk today, and this sense of urgency puts business leaders under enormous pressure. They must adjust to the use of this new technology but they do not understand it well enough. As a result, they delegate the management of the AI adoption process to the tech experts entirely. But, reality is that business leaders cannot delegate the responsibility of any AI adoption strategy. If they do, the wrong questions are likely to be asked as the business side of the tech is missing. We are already seeing the results: Many companies are sinking significant money into AI, but they are failing to extract value commensurate with the investment.
By prizing a technical mindset above all else for the rollout of AI adoption programmes, the transformation process is seen as only a technological endeavour. The human element is ignored and the organisational goals and purpose are not aligned with the deployment of AI. I wrote The AI-Savvy Leader to help reverse the trends I see in the companies I have worked with, the data I have reviewed, and the leaders I have spoken with. I want to bring leaders back into the AI conversation and to remind them that their leadership skills are essential if they want to turn AI into a true value-creator for their organisation.