IBM and Esade committed to ethical AI governance by boards of directors
Increase human intelligence, never replace it; safeguard the transparency and explainability of systems; and acknowledge creators’ authorship of ideas and data. These three principles, defined as the basis of the ethical governance of artificial intelligence (AI), underpin the ‘Guía de consejeros para una IA ética’ (Board Guardrails for Ethical AI) by the Esade Center for Corporate Governance and IBM, presented at the Esade campus in Madrid. This landmark handbook puts the board of directors at the center of a debate that has shifted from being purely tech-oriented to a strategic, organizational and cultural issue requiring guidelines to ensure that AI is used responsibly and according to the identity and principles of each organization.
The handbook highlights the urgent need for companies to have robust governance frameworks to ensure the ethical, transparent and compliant use of AI, always in keeping with the corporate values that must govern any AI strategy. The document underlines that this challenge calls for principles such as system intelligibility, responsible decision-making and data protection to be incorporated, in addition to mechanisms that ensure technical robustness, human oversight and the mitigation of social, environmental and discrimination risks. Against this background, the board of directors plays a crucial role: it is the body responsible for approving policies, supervising compliance and spearheading an AI strategy in line with the company’s mission and undertakings.
Mario Lara, director of the Esade Center for Corporate Governance, considers that “artificial intelligence can no longer be regarded as an add-on but as a catalyst that impacts critical decisions. This means that board members must be able to understand and query the technical and ethical foundations of these tools, whilst AI itself delivers opportunities to make board processes more efficient. As a result, the challenge is not only technological, but also organizational and cultural.”
Risk prevention and competitive edge
The handbook also warns readers about the ethical risks associated with the use of AI, such as biased algorithms, a lack of transparency and issues regarding responsibilities and the misuse of data. It maintains that robust, well-organized governance not only enables such risks to be mitigated but can provide a competitive edge. “Not only do ethics-centered companies reduce their exposure to risks, they also increase their performance and competitive edge,” said Ana Gobernado, general director of IBM Consulting Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel. “A robust, flexible governance framework is essential for fostering sustainable growth and long-term value for all stakeholders,” she highlighted.
In this respect, the handbook published by the Esade Corporate Governance Center and IBM urges boards of directors to develop and apply AI in order to boost trust among clients, employees and investors, and to comply with an increasingly demanding regulatory landscape. The authors therefore advise board members to adopt a proactive, informed approach that includes, among other things, drawing up a specific governance framework, creating a working group or advisory board to address ethical implications, and clearly assigning responsibilities. They also recommend specialized training, robust data governance practices, transparency, and on-going monitoring and auditing.
The presentation of ‘Board Guardrails for Ethical AI’ on the Esade campus in Madrid was attended by Mario Lara, director of the Esade Center for Corporate Governance and Esade Madrid, and Ana Gobernado, Marta Majoral and Miguel Ángel Morcuende, general director, director of AI Strategy and Governance, and associate partner, respectively, of IBM Consulting Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel. Antonio Gómez Ciria, board member of MAPFRE and Redeia, and Guadalupe de la Mata, board member of Hispasat and Redeia, also participated in a panel discussion chaired by Emma Fernández, an independent board member of 74Software, IskayPet, Metrovacesa and Santander’s Digital Consumer Bank.
