There is no doubt that artificial intelligence will be the queen of technologies in the coming years. AI has become one of the key technologies that is already revolutionizing the global business landscape, bringing significant transformations to startups, large corporations, and society in general, and opening the door to great investment opportunities.
Artificial intelligence provides enormous value in terms of process and task automation, personalized experiences, product and service innovation, or transformation of traditional decision-making processes, among other great advantages.
However, while AI has enormous potential, the emergence of this technology also poses significant challenges in terms of compliance or regulatory compliance for companies.
Data bias, ethical concerns around deepfakes or misuse of technology are some of the challenges that companies face when integrating artificial intelligence into their business.
As mentioned earlier, data protection is one of the major challenges of AI in the compliance field. The EU data protection regulation, GDPR, imposes strict restrictions on how organizations can process and store personal information. Thus, artificial intelligence, when managing large amounts of data, can violate these rules if not properly managed and monitored.
Also, the use of AI algorithms can generate unintended biases. If an algorithm is trained on historical data reflecting past bad practices, it can cause these infractions to spread over time. All of this could lead to regulatory sanctions and reputational damage to the organization.
However, if we have to highlight a use that is becoming a real headache for data security or compliance departments, it is the use of tools like ChatGPT. These types of tools have become true allies of employees in creating content, making inquiries, etc.
They have a major associated problem, which is that all the information we upload to them or generate remains in the owners’ cloud, outside of our cloud or environment, which is a privacy vulnerability.
We are seeing how many compliance departments and even IT departments are starting to ban the use of such tools, awaiting clear regulation or a technological solution
in line with the required privacy. To address this issue, companies like Microsoft have begun to propose ‘on-premise’ environments, private environments in company clouds where they can use the copilot or other solutions without fear of data leaving their controlled environment. However, the reality is that clear and scalable solutions do not yet exist.
In my opinion, companies must review and update their compliance policies to address these challenges and mitigate any risk, while also allowing for some new uses, which are ultimately necessary. For this, it is necessary to carry out periodic audits of AI algorithms to detect and correct biases. Likewise, transparency in artificial intelligence processes is also an essential element. In this sense, companies must be able to explain how their algorithms work and how decisions based on AI are made.
Finally, continuous training in artificial intelligence and data ethics for employees who manage and supervise these technologies is essential for any organization. This ongoing training in AI ensures that all levels of the company correctly understand the legal and ethical implications of the tools they are using.
With all this context, there is no doubt that companies must be vigilant to ensure that they operate within established legal and ethical frameworks. In this way, they will not only avoid sanctions or negative connotations that affect their brand image, but also ensure the trust of their customers and stakeholders in an increasingly competitive market.
