NH’s Business: Two sides of AI that generates the most common issues for some businesses

BUSINESS. I’M FRED KOCHER. I IS SHAPING THE WORKPLACE. CNET REPORTS ON IBM SURVEY OF 2000 CEOS. EARLIER THIS YEAR, RESPONDENTS SAID NEARLY 1 IN 3 WORKERS WILL NEED RETRAINING OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS, AND JUST OVER HALF SAID THEY’RE HIRING FOR AI RELATED ROLES THAT DIDN’T EXIST A YEAR AGO. MY GUEST IS IN THE FAST MOVING AI CYBERSECURITY WORLD, GIVING ADVICE AND COUNSEL TO BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND. HE IS RYAN ROBINSON, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF MAIN STATE TECHNOLOGIES AND MANCHESTER LACONIA BURLINGTON, MASS. AND HE SAYS THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO AI THAT GENERATE THE MOST COMMON ISSUES FACING HIS CUSTOMERS. WE’RE GOING TO LOOK AT BOTH SIDES NOW. WELCOME, RYAN. NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE. THANK YOU. YOU STARTED IN 2004 WITH YOUR BUSINESS, WITH TECHNOLOGY, SECURITY. AND NOW HERE WE ARE WITH AI. AND YOU’RE GIVING THAT KIND OF ADVICE. THAT’S RIGHT. YEAH. WHEN WE STARTED, OUR ADVICE WAS ALL AROUND, YOU KNOW, USING YOUR PC PROPERLY AND MAKING SURE THAT YOU HAD THE RIGHT BACKUPS. RIGHT. AND HOW FAR WE’VE COME NOW, WITH THE ADVENT OF AI, WHAT WE’RE FINDING IS THAT THERE ARE THOSE TWO SIDES. AS YOU REFERENCED, THERE’S ONE SIDE WHERE ORGANIZATIONS NEED TO LEVERAGE AI PROPERLY, AND THEN THERE’S ANOTHER SIDE WHERE THEY NEED TO ALSO PROTECT AGAINST IT. LET’S GO TO LET’S GO TO THOSE TWO SIDES AND HAVE YOU COMMENT BECAUSE THEY’RE SIGNIFICANT. THE FIRST SIDE OF AI, THEY DON’T HAVE A FOUNDATION IN PLACE TO PROPERLY LEVERAGE AI. LACK OF INTERNAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT AI. NO DEFINED AI STRATEGY. AI TOOL SPRAWL. WALK US THROUGH THAT. YEAH. THAT’S RIGHT. YOU KNOW, THERE’S A STAT THEY SAY THAT 70% OF ORGANIZATIONS ARE LEVERAGING AI IN IN THESE VERY SPORADIC WAYS, BUT THERE’S NOT CLARITY ON WHAT TOOLS THEY SHOULD BE USING. THERE’S A LACK OF TRANSPARENCY ON THE PART OF INDIVIDUAL USERS, ON WHAT TOOLS THEY’RE USING. AND SO AS A RESULT, IT’S VERY DIFFICULT FOR I.T DIRECTORS AND BUSINESS LEADERS TO SORT OF GET A HANDLE ON WHERE THEY SHOULD BE USING THESE TOOLS AND HOW THEY SHOULD BE PROTECTING AGAINST. AND THAT’S WHERE YOU COME IN. AND THEN THE SECOND SIDE OF AI THAT YOU HAVE TOLD ME ABOUT, THEY DON’T HAVE ROBUST INFORMATION SECURITY AND CYBERSECURITY PROGRAMS TO PROTECT AGAINST SOCIAL ENGINEERS AND HACKERS USING AI TOOLS. THEY GATHER DETAILED INFORMATION ON INTERNET, THEN USE AI TOOLS TO TARGET AND CUSTOMIZE SPEAR PHISHING EMAILS THAT COULD COMPROMISE THE WHOLE BUSINESS, COULDN’T IT? THAT’S RIGHT. SEVERAL YEARS AGO, BEFORE I WAS THE NEW, FUN, SEXY TOPIC TO TALK ABOUT, EVERYONE WAS TALKING ABOUT CYBERSECURITY, AND ONCE CHATGPT CAME INTO THE PUBLIC CONSCIOUSNESS, CYBERSECURITY BECAME MUCH LESS INTERESTING FOR PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT. AND YET, I WOULD ARGUE THAT NOW IS THE TIME WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT MORE THAN EVER. BECAUSE NOW YOU’VE GOT THESE THREAT ACTORS WHO ARE ABLE TO USE THESE ADVANCED AI TOOLS TO BE ABLE TO DO PERFORM THESE HACKING CAMPAIGNS THAT WOULD HAVE PREVIOUSLY TAKEN THEM WEEKS OR MONTHS TO FULFILL. NOW THEY CAN DO IT IN MINUTES OR HOURS. SO WE NEED TO BE THINKING MORE ABOUT CYBERSECURITY THAN EVER. I MEAN, YOU HAVE A LOT OF CLIENTS. WHAT’S THE MOST COMMON? I ISSUE THAT THEY BRING YOU? I THINK IT’S IT’S EITHER A LACK OF CLARITY ON HOW TO USE THE TOOLS AND A LACK OF REAL STRATEGY AROUND THAT, OR IT’S JUST FEAR, AND IT’S FEAR AROUND WHAT DO OUR BUSINESS, WHAT’S A GUY GOING TO DO TO OUR DATA, OUR PRIVACY, AND A LACK OF CLARITY AROUND BOTH OF THOSE TOPICS? NOW THERE ARE FUNDAMENTALS FOR BUSINESS USE OF AI, AND HERE THEY ARE. DATA INTEGRITY, TRANSPARENCY, HUMAN CONTROL TESTING AND AUDITING, CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY. AND RYAN, THAT HUMAN CONTROL THAT’S STILL IMPORTANT ISN’T IT? IT IS. YEAH. WE NEED AI. THAT’S SORT OF WITH THE HUMAN IN THE LOOP WHEN I CANNOT BE ITS OWN, ITS OWN FORCE AND ITS OWN MASTER. YEAH, YEAH. NOW, IT’S ALL IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THERE IS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, A GUARDRAIL ON AI THAT YOU PROBABLY DON’T KNOW ABOUT. NEW HAMPSHIRE. REGULATION OF AI, USE BY STATE AGENCIES PROHIBITS USE FOR MANIPULATION, DISCRIMINATION, OR SURVEILLANCE OF THE PUBLIC. GUIDELINES FOR AI DEPLOYMENT ENSURING HUMAN OVERSIGHT AND TRANSPARENCY IN AI GENERATED DECISIONS ON CITIZENS RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS. THAT’S A BIG GUARDRAIL HERE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. ON AI. SO MY THANKS TO RYAN ROBINSON, SENIOR DIRECTOR AND PARTNER AT MAINSTAY TECHNOLOGIES IN MANCHESTER. LACONIA AND BURLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS. THANKS FOR THE BRIEFING. GREAT TO BE HERE. AND IF YOU MISSED PART OF THIS, YOU CAN G