Board Shakeups Loom as AI Oversight Demands New Tech Expertise

The emergence of artificial intelligence means corporate boards will have to shake up their membership to better oversee the technology, bringing in tech-savvy recruits that could supplant some directors, a new report by the National Association of Corporate Directors suggests.

Boards should be “aggressive” in evaluating their makeup, said David Kenny, co-chair of the commission that produced the report. Kenny is also Nielsen Holdings Plc’s executive board chairman and led the company as CEO from 2018 to 2023.

“I think boards owe it to themselves to make sure that you’ve got the right composition, and that probably will be more change, not less,” Kenny told reporters at a press roundtable held by the directors’ association just outside Washington on Tuesday as the report was released.

The book of recommendations, called “Technology Leadership in the Boardroom: Driving Trust and Value,” is designed to encompass existing and emerging technology—not just AI. It comes at a time when corporate America grapples with how to supervise an explosion in technology innovations that has been equated with the dawn of the internet.

Boards must innovate with how they oversee technologies with new committees, charters, and bylaws to ensure technology like AI aligns with the business, said Nora Denzel, co-chair of the committee, who also works as the lead independent director at chipmaker AMD.

“I think that there’ll be more changes in the boardroom in the next 12 to 18 months than we’ve had in the past decade,” Denzel said.

Board Transparency

Boards should also be transparent to customers, shareholders, and employees about how and why new technology is being used, the report recommended. Such transparency includes public disclosure.

That transparency is key, Kenny said, because AI threatens to replace employees while boards see AI as an opportunity to cut costs and boost efficiency.

“Trust and transparency go hand-in-hand,” he said. “Technology is going to make things more transparent; and actually, if you want to be ahead on trust, the more transparent you can be, the better.”

But employees, especially in creative fields, shouldn’t be threatened by automation, AI, and new tech tools, Denzel said, adding that those adept in using the tools will disrupt the labor market.

“I don’t think AI will take your job; I think someone that knows AI really well will take your job,” Denzel said.