Generative AI Is a Top Emerging Risk for Enterprises, Gartner Says

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google Bard have cracked the top-10 list of emerging risks for enterprises, according to a new report by research firm Gartner.

The report polled 249 senior risk executives to develop a list of the top-20 emerging risks for enterprises.

"Generative AI was the second most-frequently named risk in our second quarter survey, appearing in the top 10 for the first time," said Ran Xu, director, research, in the Gartner Risk & Audit Practice, in a prepared statement. "This reflects both the rapid growth of public awareness and usage of generative AI tools, as well as the breadth of potential use cases, and therefore potential risks, that these tools engender."

Gartner said that among the key risks for generative AI are:

  • Data privacy, since generative AI tools share information with third parties;

  • Information security, as hackers look for ways to "subvert it for their own ends," according to Xu; and

  • Intellectual property, as sensitive, copyrighted, or confidential information can be leaked through these tools.

The top 5 emerging risks in the latest report included:

  1. Third-party viability, cited by 67% of respondents;

  2. Mass availability of generative AI, cited by 66%;

  3. Financial planning uncertainty (62%);

  4. Cloud concentration risk (62%); and

  5. China trade tensions (56%).

The full report is available to Gartner clients here.

 

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


Featured

  • closeup of hands using smart phone

    Learning Continuity Built into the LMS Withstands Cloud or Cybersecurity Interruptions

    When your institution's administrative or instructional capabilities face disruption from natural, technical, or malicious events, what measures does your LMS offer to provide a "business as usual" operating and learning environment? Instructure's Ryan Lufkin comments on the LMS and learning continuity.

  • digital brain with network connections

    Microsoft Moving to Internally Developed AI Models in Office Apps

    Microsoft is reportedly using its own in-house artificial intelligence models to handle some workloads in Excel and Outlook, offering new evidence that the company is moving its AI strategy beyond model development and into large-scale cost reduction.

  • businessman holding tablet with holographic AI icons

    Google Moves AI Agents into the Mainstream

    At its recent I/O developer conference, Google presented artificial intelligence agents not as a distant research project, but as a product strategy spanning Search, personal assistants, productivity software, developer tools, and smart glasses.

  • artificial intelligence on laptop

    OpenAI to Combine AI Products into Desktop 'Superapp'

    OpenAI is reportedly developing a desktop application that would combine several of its emerging AI products into a single platform, according to reports, marking the latest step in the company's effort to transform ChatGPT from a standalone chatbot into a broader productivity and automation environment.