How Pioneering Boards Are Using AI

Few board members recognize AI's potential to help them prepare for and engage in substantive, well-informed, and strategically focused discussions with management and their board colleagues. That's what the authors discovered when they conducted focus groups with more than 50 board chairs, vice chairs, and committee chairs from public and private companies in Europe, Asia, and North America. Most board members readily acknowledge AI's value as a personal productivity tool and recognize its critical role in corporate operations. But they shy away from using it to improve board performance. That's a mistake. This article explains how AI can contribute to boards' work by assisting individual board members, supplying the whole board with better information, and joining the board and actively participating in discussions. It also examines some of the risks commonly associated with AI, such as information leaks and sample biases, and describes how to mitigate them. Finally, it offers an adaptive learning-by-doing process for making AI an integral part of deliberations in the boardroom. It is the responsibility of board chairs to create engagement, help orchestrate collective experimentation, and maintain momentum.