Chief AI officer

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C-suite position

A chief AI officer (CAIO), also known as chief artificial intelligence officer, is a senior executive position responsible for an organization's artificial intelligence strategy, implementation, and governance.[1] This business role emerged from the rapidly increasing deployment of AI technologies in business operations,[2] education, and government.[3]

## Origin

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A CAIO is typically responsible for examining the short and long-term needs of an organization and guiding investments designed to help the organization reach its AI-related goals in support of larger business objectives.[4][5] The CAIO is typically the highest AI executive position within a company and leads the AI, data analytics, or machine learning department.[6]

The roles and responsibilities of a CAIO can intersect, interoperate, or even overlap with other c-suite technology officers such as the chief data officer (CDO), chief information officer (CIO), chief technology officer (CTO), and chief information security officer (CISO).[7] The exact content and reporting structure varies by organization, but the CAIO frequently reports to the CEO, COO, or CTO[1]

## History

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The CAIO is a relatively new position, driven by advancements in AI technologies, especially following the resurgence of deep neural networks.[8] This revival[9] of AI can be dated to the end of the last AI winter, marked by the 2012 ImageNet competition.[10] With the invention of the transformer architecture in 2017 and widespread public adoption of large language models via interfaces like ChatGPT in late 2022, AI investments and competition for computing resources and talent have risen rapidly.[11]

According to LinkedIn data, the number of CAIO positions has about tripled in the last five years.[12][13][14] This highlights the growing acknowledgement of the strategic and competitive importance of integrating AI into business operations. A wide range of industries hired CAIOs at leading institutions. In healthcare alone, this includes largest organizations including GE Healthcare,[15] UnitedHealth, UCSF Health,[16] UCSD Health,[17] Mayo Clinic Arizona,[18] and Children's National Hospital.[19][20][21]

On March 28, 2024, in response to the US Whitehouse Executive Order #14110 on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence,[22] the US White House's Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum mandating all US Executive departments and agencies appoint a Chief AI Officer (CAIO) within 60 days.[23] This mandate has been met with alacrity [24] with the Chief AI Officer Council convening their first meeting in December 2023, well ahead of the March 2024 deadline.[25] On April 19, 2024, Senator Gerry Connolly (D-VA) introduced the AI LEAD Act, which would expand upon hiring AI leadership beyond the EO #14110 and OMB memorandum.[26] Although the AI LEAD Act is still in committee as of mid-October 2024, it reflects widespread concern around AI legislation at both the federal[27] and state[28] levels with a focus on AI leadership in government.

## References

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1. ^ a b "Chief AI officer: What it takes to land the C-suite's hottest new job". CIO. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
2. ^ "Artificial Intelligence for the Real World". Harvard Business Review. 2018-01-01. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
3. ^ "The EU AI Act and the Emergence of New Global Standards". Eckerson Group. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
4. ^ Valente, Alla (2024-04-03). "The New Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Role Balances AI Champion And Risk Manager". Forrester. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
5. ^ Stryker, Cole (2024-08-12). "What Is a Chief AI Officer?". IBM. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
6. ^ Fountaine, Tim; McCarthy, Brian; Saleh, Tamim (2019-07-01). "Building the AI-Powered Organization". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
7. ^ "CIO vs CTO: What's the difference? | McKinsey". www.mckinsey.com. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
8. ^ "The evolving role of Chief Artificial Intelligence Officers - Power Shifter Digital". www.powershifter.com. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
9. ^ Francesconi, Enrico (2022-06-01). "The winter, the summer and the summer dream of artificial intelligence in law". Artificial Intelligence and Law. 30 (2): 147–161\. doi:10.1007/s10506-022-09309-8. ISSN 1572-8382. PMC 8811736. PMID 35132296.
10. ^ "ImageNet". image-net.org. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
11. ^ Field, Hayden; Leswing, Kif (2024-03-30). "Generative AI 'FOMO' is driving tech heavyweights to invest billions of dollars in startups". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
12. ^ "The rise of the chief AI officer". Financial Times. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
13. ^ "Future of Work Report: AI at Work" (PDF). www.linkedin.com. November 2023. Retrieved 18 Oct 2024.
14. ^ Laker, Benjamin. "Adapting To AI: Interesting Insights From LinkedIn On The Job Market". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
15. ^ "General Electric Healthcare revenue 2023". Statista. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
16. ^ "Budget | UC San Francisco". www.ucsf.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
17. ^ "Facts at a Glance". UC San Diego Health. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
18. ^ Hames, Marty Velasco (16 Jul 2024). "Mayo Clinic in Arizona ranked No. 1 hospital in Arizona for 12th consecutive year by US News & World Report". www.mayoclinic.org/. Retrieved 18 Oct 2024.
19. ^ Diaz, Naomi (2024-07-31). "Which health systems have chief AI officers?". www.beckershospitalreview.com. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
20. ^ Jackson, Amber (2023-07-19). "Top 10 Chief AI Officers". aimagazine.com. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
21. ^ "Children's National Hospital ranked #5 in the nation on U.S. News & World Report's Best Children's Hospitals Honor Roll". Children's National Hospital. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
22. ^ "Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence". The White House. 2023-10-30. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
23. ^ "Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies" (PDF). The US Whitehouse. March 28, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
24. ^ "Agencies have met all AI mandates for management and talent, watchdog says". Nextgov.com. 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
25. ^ "OMB Issues First Governmentwide AI Policy". www.meritalk.com. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
26. ^ "Connolly, Garbarino Introduce Bill to Create Chief AI Officers at Every Federal Agency". U.S. Congressman Gerry Connolly. 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
27. ^ "More Than 120 AI Bills Currently Processing in Congress". GovTech. 2024-09-18. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
28. ^ "Artificial Intelligence 2024 Legislation". ncsl.org. 9 September 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.