AI in the boardroom: Is it the next D&O claim?

Kicking off first, I think it's fair to say we can't just be looking at AI risk from any perspective as just a subset of cyber risk, which is how it might have come into most people's sphere first time around.

It absolutely sits alongside those cyber exposures, but it's a distinct risk, and it brings into play potential governance failures, strategic missteps, questions about model performance and regulatory non-compliance.

And those categories map naturally onto D&O exposure, including claims alleging negligent oversight, defective AI disclosure, inadequate supervision of automated decisions, or a failure to meet regulatory obligations.

I think you can really see how those competing concerns can then amount to quite a significant dilemma for a board.

You've got boards that are facing real pressure to adopt AI quickly, but are conscious that they are risking claims exposure if they're deploying AI without proper controls.

If you move too fast, there's a risk of errors, there's a risk of bias, misleading statements.

But if you move too slowly, then the business loses competitive ground.

So damned if you do, damned if you don't.