What CIOs Must Do to Prevail in the AI Transformation

AI’s transformative impact on IT roles: The advent of artificial intelligence is reshaping the landscape of IT jobs, with significant implications for roles at all levels, including that of the CIO.

• A report from the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium indicates that 92% of IT jobs will be moderately or highly transformed by AI, with 100% of senior-level positions experiencing moderate transformation.
• In the business and management IT sector, 63% of jobs are classified as “high transformation” due to AI’s influence.
• A survey by Pluralsight found that 74% of IT professionals in the US and UK are concerned that AI tools will render many of their daily skills obsolete.

The evolving role of the CIO: While AI has the potential to replace CIOs who fail to adapt, it also offers opportunities for those who embrace innovation to augment their power and value within organizations.

• Tim Crawford, a former CIO and current strategic advisor, suggests that generative AI will greatly enhance the CIO role for those who embrace innovative shifts.
• AI is facilitating more efficient decision-making through data-driven insights, even at the highest executive levels.
• An edX survey revealed that more than half of C-suite executives believe AI could partly or completely replace executive leadership roles.

AI’s impact on CIO responsibilities: Artificial intelligence is already transforming various aspects of the CIO’s job, from routine tasks to strategic planning.

• AI is being used to assist with budgeting, sourcing, and writing vision statements for board presentations.
• Sumit Johar, CIO at BlackLine, notes that AI can handle repetitive tasks such as organizing meetings, approvals, and IT ticket management.
• AI can serve as a personal assistant, always available and with access to organizational knowledge, helping to make sense of large documents and enabling faster decision-making.

Shifting focus and evolving skillsets: As AI takes over more routine tasks, CIOs are likely to see their roles evolve, with a greater emphasis on high-level expertise and strategic decision-making.

• Johar predicts a shift from backend management to innovation and forward-focused projects as AI augments CIO capabilities.
• Sharon Mandell, CIO at Juniper Networks, emphasizes that while AI can streamline data gathering, decisions involving risk and accountability will still require human input.
• CIOs are spending more time understanding and leveraging AI technologies to improve their skills and abilities, as well as identifying new areas where AI can benefit their organizations.

Strategic value and transformation leadership: To remain relevant in the face of AI advancements, CIOs must focus on providing strategic value and demonstrating transformational leadership skills.

• Henry Svendblad, CTO at Company Nurse, highlights the importance of driving business forward and finding innovative ways to use AI to impact the bottom line.
• Jim Routh, chief trust officer at Saviynt, stresses the need for CIOs to invest in essential skills that facilitate consensus and demonstrate the ability to speak the language of business.
• Anand Rao, AI professor at Carnegie Mellon University, points out that many organizations still have significant work to do in areas such as sustainability, cybersecurity, and cloud migration, where CIOs can add substantial value.

Human responsibility and emotional intelligence: Despite AI’s capabilities, there are crucial aspects of the CIO role that remain distinctly human, particularly in terms of responsibility and emotional intelligence.

• Kevin Prouty, an IDC analyst, notes that while AI can advise on decisions, human responsibility for those decisions is still essential in corporate settings.
• The lack of comprehensive data on high-level strategic decision-making poses challenges for training AI to replace CIOs effectively.
• Chris Mattmann, chief data and AI officer at UCLA, emphasizes the importance of human leadership in inspiring and managing teams, something AI cannot replicate.

The future of CIO leadership: As AI continues to evolve, successful CIOs will need to adapt their roles, focusing on strategic tasks and developing a deep understanding of both technology and business challenges.

• Rogers Jeffrey Leo John, co-founder and CTO at DataChat, describes shifting his focus towards crafting long-term strategies and aligning business goals with AI initiatives.
• The future of IT leadership will require not only technical expertise but also a strong grasp of business strategy and the ability to network with business leaders.
• CIOs who can effectively leverage AI while maintaining their strategic and interpersonal skills are likely to remain valuable assets to their organizations in the AI-driven future.