CIO Essentials: The Robo Revolution

One threat is emerging as the clear frontrunner among CISOs this year - and it isn't ransomware.

This week I was in the USA for MES IT Security, with IT vendors and end-users from across North America - part of our plans to launch there later this year (exciting news for us, but not the subject of this column).

I heard some great talks about cyberinsurance by Wes Spencer and the security trends to watch in 2023 by Gartner's Paul Furtado, as well as chatting to security leaders in every sector.

But when it came to the networking, one topic dominated every conversation (after college basketball) - something everyone at the conference was, if not concerned by, at least watching very closely.

If you guessed some variant on "generative AI," give yourself a pat on the back.

The unprecedented growth of ChatGPT this year, and fast rise of rivals like Bard and Ernie, has implications for IT - especially now that the original chatbot can go online.

Top of everyone's mind was the potential for targeted phishing scams, followed by AI's ability to quickly write malicious code.

With a recent study concluding that reliable detection of AI-generated text is the next best thing to impossible, and humans still seen as the weak point in most security systems, it should be no surprise that IT leaders are worried.

Some CIOs are also concerned about job replacement, previously the preserve of people in manual roles. Generative AI - with its contextual, natural language replies - threatens office workers as much as robots have disrupted factory lines.

Other leaders take a more traditional view that AI will add value and enhance professionals' lives.

In my mind, there is no doubt that jobs will be lost over the coming decades - but more will be created. It will be up to IT leaders to help staff prepare for the skills that will be in demand in the future.