This AI attorney says companies need a chief AI officer -- pronto

When Bradford Newman began advocating for more artificial intelligence expertise in the C-suite in 2015, "people were laughing at me," he said. Newman, who leads global law firm Baker McKenzie's machine learning and AI practice in its Palo Alto office, added that when he mentioned the need for companies to appoint a chief AI officer, people typically responded, "What's that?" But as the use of artificial intelligence proliferates across the enterprise, and as issues around AI ethics, bias, risk, regulation and legislation currently swirl throughout the business landscape, the importance of appointing a chief AI officer is clearer than ever, he said. This recognition led to a new Baker McKenzie report, released in March, called "Risky Business: Identifying Blind Spots in Corporate Oversight of Artificial Intelligence." The report surveyed 500 US-based, C-level executives who self-identified as part of the decision-making team responsible for their organization's adoption, use and management of AI-enabled tools. In a press release upon the survey's release, Newman said: "Given the increase in state legislation and regulatory enforcement, companies need to step up their game when it comes to AI oversight and governance to ensure their AI is ethical and protect themselves from liability by managing their exposure to risk accordingly."