Navigating the future of AI: Enhancing trust and transparency in business practices

AI is becoming increasingly pervasive in all aspects of life, and this trend will continue to shape our work and personal experiences. The growing fusion of physical and digital lives is transforming expectations, both for organisations and individuals. However, as AI becomes more embedded in business strategies, a significant challenge emerges: the gap between what technology can deliver and user expectations. Unlike a decade ago, when five-year tech roadmaps sufficed, today's fast-paced AI evolution makes long-term strategies obsolete almost immediately.

One of the most pressing issues is the trust in AI-generated outputs.While AI tools have the potential to enhance efficiency, their benefits are often undermined by a lack of trust in AI-generated outputs, leading to time-consuming human oversight - ultimately eroding the intended benefits.

In 2025, we will see organisations starting to incorporate a level of regulatory oversight to help bridge this trust gap. By adopting clear standards for responsible AI use, including mandatory disclosures when AI has been involved in content generation, it would allow for greater transparency and enable critical analysis, ensuring that AI outputs are scrutinised properly before being accepted as factual. Having such a process in place would balance the speed and convenience of AI with the necessary checks for accuracy, thus making AI a more reliable partner in the workplace.

Cutting costs and carbon footprint through effective data management
Data storage will continue to be a crucial issue for organisations, not only due to the escalating costs but also because of its significant environmental impact. In 2020, data centers accounted for approximately 1% of global energy consumption, a figure comparable to the global aviation industry. As society becomes increasingly conscious of climate change, there is a growing awareness that data storage plays a major role in carbon emissions. This is often overlooked, as digital storage feels intangible compared to more visible carbon-producing activities like air travel.

However the shift is already happening, with organisations demanding more detailed reporting from their data storage vendors, particularly around the climate impact of their operations. Despite the growing concern, a simple solution exists data lifecycle management. Many organisations are storing unnecessary or redundant data, contributing to both higher costs and a larger environmental footprint. By actively managing the lifecycle of their data, businesses can reduce the volume they store, thus lowering both financial and environmental costs.

Moreover, the accumulation of unnecessary data also impacts AI performance. As the volume of outdated or irrelevant data grows, AI systems may become less effective, pulling in incorrect or irrelevant information. By prioritising data lifecycle management, organisations can ensure that their data is both current and relevant, leading to better outcomes from AI-driven processes.

The new Privacy Act and its impact on cybersecurity
Cybersecurity and privacy are becoming increasingly intertwined, particularly with the recent changes to Australia's Privacy Act. Previously, only large organisations with annual turnovers above $50 million were subject to the strictest privacy regulations. Now, the threshold has been lowered to businesses with as few as 15 employees, significantly broadening the scope of who must comply. This shift will have a profound impact on small to medium-sized businesses that may not have previously needed to invest heavily in privacy compliance.

As consumers become more aware of their rights, businesses will face heightened expectations around data protection and deletion. Many organisations are ill-prepared to manage these demands. For example, while large-scale breaches like the Optus incident have highlighted the importance of data security, they have also exposed the fact that many companies are holding onto customer data far longer than necessary. Consumers are now realising that their data, even from decades ago, is still stored by companies, increasing the risk of exposure during cyberattacks.

In addition to privacy concerns, cybersecurity frameworks need to stay ahead of evolving threats. Cybercriminals are leveraging increasingly sophisticated AI tools to orchestrate larger, more damaging attacks. As a result, companies must prioritise innovation in their cybersecurity practices. The consequences of failure are now much steeper, with the updated Privacy Act imposing heavier penalties for breaches. For organisations, this means that cybersecurity cannot be an afterthought. Now more than ever, it must be a proactive, ever-evolving effort to protect sensitive information and avoid costly repercussions.