C-suite executives themselves violate corporate AI usage policies
Although companies have established AI usage policies, both executives and employees engage in violations. A Nitro survey found that over two-thirds of C-suite executives recently used unauthorized AI tools, and more than half believe security and compliance implementation is difficult. Shadow AI increases the risk of data breaches, with global average losses exceeding $4 million. Experts point out that insufficient tool practicality is one of the main causes of violations, and adoption should be driven by value rather than coercion.
Quick Overview
- According to research commissioned by software company Nitro, enterprises have established AI guidelines and policies, but not everyone follows the rules. The company analyzed over 1,000 responses from C-suite executives and employees.
- More than two-thirds of C-suite executives admitted to using unauthorized AI tools at work in the past three months. Of those, over a third used unapproved tools at least five times in the last quarter. More than half of executives rated security and compliance as "challenging" or "extremely challenging" when implementing AI.
- Employees are equally ignoring established standards around AI tools. A third of employees admitted to using AI to handle confidential company information.
Deep Insights
As the rush to adopt AI technology continues, tools and platforms are proliferating without a unified strategy, and AI sprawl is taking over the workplace.
Shadow AI is one of the main forces driving this trend, bringing a host of security risks. According to an IBM survey, about 20% of organizations that experienced data breaches traced the incident to shadow AI, with global average losses exceeding $4 million.
Both executives and employees tend to use unauthorized AI tools. Some see it as a way to bypass cumbersome approval processes and speed things up.
"If your competitors are using AI to accelerate content production right now, waiting for approved tech stacks means losing ground every day," said Cormac Whelan, CEO of Nitro, in an email to CIO Dive. "They've made a deliberate decision: it's better to ask for forgiveness than to explain why they sat around waiting for compliance."
Surveys like Nitro's show that C-suite executives have similar tendencies. For example, CalypsoAI found that more than two-thirds of executives admitted to using AI to streamline their work even when it conflicted with internal policies.
Shadow AI can also be a symptom of poor tools. After all, according to a Udacity survey, three-quarters of employees said they abandon AI tools mid-task, often due to accuracy issues.
Useless tools won't be used, wasting valuable resources amid runaway AI costs.
"This is a wake-up call," Whelan said in the email. "Adoption is earned, not mandated."