Do you feel optimistic or worried about the future of AI in business?

As a business owner or leader, what are your biggest concerns about the future of AI and its impact on your industry? With the evolution of automation and machine learning tools becoming more and more powerful, many professionals have voiced their opinions over the past several years—some in favor and some opposed. 

Below, 11 thought leaders from Fast Company Executive Board point out several factors that every leader should consider. They also weigh in on maintaining a better balance between the use of formulaic AI data and the human touch to monitor and inform the right decision-making process to enhance an organization’s brand awareness through consistent, authentic messaging.

1. YOUR OWN RELIANCE ON PAST SUCCESSES AND YOUR INTUITION

My biggest concern is me! As leaders, we often lean too heavily on our past successes, abilities, and even intuition. I’m actively unlearning and embracing the unknown, striving for a not-too-distant different tomorrow. With unwavering optimism and curiosity, I ensure these feelings outweigh any lingering fears. I feel positive about the journey while always remaining self-alert. – Bob Wollheim, CI&T

2. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BEING USED TO REPLACE HUMAN UNDERSTANDING

While AI can be a powerful tool for creating operational efficiencies, we mustn’t lose sight of the power of human connection. Brands that cannot authentically connect with and understand their consumers will lose out to those who can harness AI as a tool to empower their employees to gain deeper insights and learnings, but not replace them. – Petty Rader, Ergobaby

3. BIASED AND SKEWED AI-GENERATED DATA THAT PROMOTES NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES

Business owners should be aware that studies have shown that AI-generated data may be inherently biased and skewed in the direction of negative stereotypes. Companies must set up guidelines that specifically outline where and when AI can be used. AI is excellent for certain rote tasks but cannot perform critical thinking. – Evan Nierman, Red Banyan

4. HOW TO KEEP BRAND CONTENT CONSISTENT AND AUTHENTIC 

Trust and consistency often top the list of things that people expect from brands. As content is increasingly automated, leaders will need to find new ways to ensure customers’ confidence levels in the brand and the company’s ability to create authentic messaging—be it human or tech-enabled. – Bryan Goodpaster, Marks

5. SLOW ADOPTION OF AI TOOLS TO IMPROVE WORKFLOW AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION 

My biggest concern right now with AI is that we need to get ahead of adopting it before our competitors figure it out. If used properly, there are so many opportunities to add efficiencies and automation to tasks, so that our team could focus more time doing other important functions that they actually might enjoy more. – Megan Teates, Affinity Group

6. THE RISKS OF DISCOUNTING NECESSARY MEASURING AND MONITORING TO BUILD TRUSTWORTHY AI MODELS

To successfully adopt AI in heavily regulated industries like the life sciences, leaders must not discount the knowledge needed to build trust in AI models. Human-in-the-loop is critical. Measuring and monitoring are vital to creating a feedback loop so models continuously learn and adapt. AI should be adopted to enhance efficiencies, not replace the human element, or you risk faulty operations. – Raj Indupuri, eClinical Solutions

7. COMPANIES THAT ARE NOT CREATING NEW ROLES AND TRAINING SYSTEMS TO LEVERAGE AI

We must understand and embrace where technology and AI are going. Instead of finding ways to keep certain jobs relevant, create new roles and training systems that leverage AI. Help your team understand that change is inevitable, but accepting change by learning how to more effectively leverage new AI tools will be a differentiator. – Jimmy St. Louis, Franchise123

8. AI BECOMING MUCH TOO POWERFUL AND RENDERING BUSINESSES IRRELEVANT

The biggest concern would be that AI becomes so powerful that our software and service are no longer needed. That said, we’re very much of the mindset that if we don’t continuously adapt and evolve, we’ll eventually get left behind. So, instead of worrying about what concerns we have with AI, I’d rather start figuring out ways in which we can work with it to make our products and services even better. – Toni Ann Careccio, PortPro Technologies, Inc.

9. LOSS OF THE ABILITY TO DEVELOP CREATIVE AND MEMORABLE MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

One of my biggest concerns about the growing power of AI and its impact on the marketing industry is that with too much automation, the risk of removing humanity from the equation will be a race to the bottom where creativity and unique human perspectives won’t be allowed to create amazing, memorable campaigns. AI should empower humans to do their best work, not replace them. – Andrew Becks, 301 Digital Media

10. INABILITY TO GET EMPLOYEES EXCITED AND WILLING TO LEARN AI AND HOW TO LEVERAGE IT

One major concern is leveraging AI’s benefits throughout the company. This means getting employees excited and willing to learn about it and to use it to work productively. This will take time to document, turn into workflows, and disseminate within the company. There’s no avoiding the human touch for a long time while we still try to figure out how to add AI to our business effectively. – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner

11. USING AI AS A FINISHED PRODUCT RATHER THAN A STARTING POINT

AI is a great starting point, but it is far from a finished product. AI gives you the skeleton for great content, but it needs the final human touch to put it over the top and make it stand out. My fear is that as AI grows and companies become more dependent, that final human touch step will be eliminated. Everything will be generic and made for the sole purpose of pleasing SEO. – Jason Hall, Five Channels