Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 107 | Page 53

CIO OPINION
In short , the Chief AI Officer is an amalgam of business strategist and risk manager . As part of this hybrid role , Chief AI Officer will lay the groundwork for AI success by devising ways of acquiring and retaining top AI talent . But pushback from CIOs and CDOs is inevitable , given the enormous stake they may already have in AI-related areas .
The CIO may have established the organisation ’ s overall technology strategy , IT infrastructure , cybersecurity posture , and digital transformation programmes from the ground up with AI an integral part of their portfolio . They may see the Chief AI Officer less as a horse whisperer and more as an unnecessary stable hand .
The Chief Data Officer may have a similar view , given that their role may be considered to extend naturally into AI , including its governance . From the data expert ’ s perspective , a Chief AI Officer could threaten non-AI data initiatives such as self-service analytics .
The first and most obvious countermeasure to potential power struggles is to define each role to eliminate overlaps . Acknowledge the tight interdependencies between AI , data , and IT , and mandate close
The Chief AI Officer will lay the groundwork for AI success by devising ways of acquiring and retaining top AI talent .
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