28 Virtual Brochure – February 2024 D) Digital disruption, new technology and AI. Perhaps surprisingly, participants in this year’s ECIIA survey reported a small reduction in the average ranking of risks from digital disruption and AI. While these new technologies offer business opportunities, automation and efficiency benefits, there is also a recognition that they may create complexity and new risk exposures, particularly in relation to cybersecurity. As such, respondents felt that the risks from these areas would increase very significantly over the next three years Considerations for HE At present, digital disruption and opportunities and risks from AI do not feature in institutional risk registers, which tend to focus on the risks from legacy technology and the implementation of digital change projects. This presents a risk in and of itself given that AI tools are very likely already being used in education, research and support services in most institutions, and their usage will expand in the months and years ahead, posing operational and potentially legal, intellectual property, or ethical risks. This goes well beyond concerns about student plagiarism. For example, AI tools may enable: automation of recruitment and admissions; the generation of teaching and assessment materials; personalised learning and feedback; predictive analytics; and a myriad of uses in research through the ability to handle and learn vast amounts of data, write code, deliver predictions and automate activities. Issues to consider are: - How is your institution enabling conversations with staff, students and governors about the potential opportunities and risks of AI? - Given the potential of AI to impact across all institutional activities, how will decision making about strategies, policies, frameworks, and governance around the responsible and ethical use of AI tools be managed? - How is your institution preparing students for a future world of work where AI tools will be the norm?
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