With many organisations trying to work out what AI means for them, there have been big questions about the role of an AI Officer. Many are trying to work out who an AI Officer is and what their role should be. To what extent can they help an organisation achieve good AI governance? Is “AI Officer” even the right job title? Should the person not be called an AI Governance Officer instead or a Chief AI Officer? And what skills should they even have to succeed in their role?

Who is an AI Officer?

An AI Officer is central to helping an organisation strategise and figure out how to manage AI well. One could even say that an AI Officer is basically the face of AI governance. They are supposed to drive the development of policies and practices that help an organisation leverage AI in an ethical and lawful way. Regardless of whether an organisation develops AI, resells it on behalf of another, or uses it internally for its own business purposes, an AI Officer is supposed to be part of each strategic or decision-making conversation.

Is there a difference between an AI Officer and a Chief AI Officer?

Generally, there is no real legal difference between the two designations. It largely depends on the intention of the people using the titles. Some people may say Chief AI Officer because that is what they heard someone in this role being called. Others use the word “Chief” to show the seniority of the role, and distinguish subordinate AI Officers from a Chief AI Officer who supervises them.

At the heart of it, Chief AI Officers and AI Officers serve the same function. If you wish to distinguish between two AI Officers that you have appointed, where one reports to the other, you can go with Chief AI Officer and AI Officer, or you can go with AI Officer and Deputy AI Officer. At this point, there is no legal significance to either choice.

Can you use your Information Officer or Data Protection Officer?

Yes, you can absolutely appoint your current Information Officer (IO) or Data Protection Officer (DPO) in this additional role. There could, of course, be problems if the person becomes overwhelmed and lacks the capacity to tackle both roles effectively. In theory, though, you can definitely use your IO or DPO, especially because of the inevitable overlap between data protection and AI.

What skills should they have?

Naturally, your chosen candidate should be skilled. There are general skills that they need to have, and specific ones that may vary from one organisation to another. We discuss what these skills are in a separate article.

Does your AI governance involve anyone else?

In short, yes. One person cannot steer an entire organisation towards good AI governance without receiving any help. They need the governing body to be active and engaged, to provide strategic direction, ongoing monitoring, and policy and budget approvals. Others in the organisation also need to help. You can even have AI champions in each area of the organisation. These people can periodically report to the AI Officer to ensure uniformity.

How can we help?

There are a number of ways we can help you. We take pride in being able to help clients like you with AI. You should:

  • Lessen your workload by outsourcing your AI Officer role and responsibilities to us;
  • Receive empowering training by attending our private or public Training for AI Officers workshop;
  • Successfully identify a good candidate by asking us to advise you;
  • Formalise the appointment of your chosen candidate by using our AI Officer Appointment Letter;
  • Overcome any other challenge with your AI governance by asking for our advice; or
  • Leverage AI lawfully and ethically by joining our Trustworthy AI programme.