AI assessments key to business productivity: EY, ACCA
Businesses are being urged to conduct assessments of their AI systems to fully leverage its potential and benefits.
A recent policy paper authored by EY and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is encouraging businesses to undertake effective assessments of their AI systems to boost innovation, productivity and growth.
The report, ‘AI Assessments: Enhancing Confidence in AI’, highlighted that AI assessments could play a crucial role in evaluating if AI systems were well governed, compliant with applicable laws and regulations and performed in line with business leaders’ expectations.
EY and ACCA said the purpose of this paper was to make “the case that effective AI assessments allow businesses to deploy AI systems that are more likely to be effective, reliable and trusted”.
The paper also addressed current challenges that came with these emerging types of AI assessments and identified the key elements needed to make them robust and meaningful for their users.
The three types of emerging AI assessments that could result in increased confidence in AI, highlighted by ACCA and EY, included governance assessments, conformity assessments and performance assessments.
Business leaders were encouraged to adopt these tests into frequent operations as they evaluated internal governance structures, determined compliance with applicable laws, regulations and standards, as well as measured quality and performance metrics.
Helen Brand, ACCA chief executive, said the publication of the paper came at a time when the policy landscape related to AI assessment continued to quickly evolve.
“As AI scales across the economy the ability to trust what it says is not just important, it is vital for the public interest.”
“This is an area where we need to bridge skills gaps and build trust in the AI eco-system as part of driving sustainable business. We look forward to collaborating with policymakers and others in this fascinating and important area.”
Within the report, the two organisations recommended “concrete suggestions” to help business leaders and policymakers ensure AI assessments were as effective as possible.
Suggestions included considering the role of AI assessments, clearly defining the purpose, components, methodology and criteria of AI assessments and the support of capacity-building in the market to provide consistent and cost-effective assessments.
Marie-Laure Delarue, EY global vice-chair of assurance, said for business leaders, policymakers and the public, AI represented a generational opportunity for increasing productivity and innovation.
“However, AI can also seem like a black box – with minimal transparency and assurance of its effectiveness, governance and trustworthiness. And while AI assessment frameworks are emerging that aim to address these concerns, the sheer number and variety of approaches is challenging,” she said.
“AI has been advancing faster than many of us could have imagined, and it now faces an inflection point, presenting incredible opportunities as well as complexities and risks. It is hard to overstate the importance of ensuring safe and effective adoption of AI.”
“Rigorous assessments are an important tool to help build confidence in the technology, and confidence is the key to unlocking AI’s full potential as a driver of growth and prosperity.”
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