Qlik launches AI Council to guide ethical, responsible development

Qlik, the global expert in data analytics and integration, has recently announced the establishment of its inaugural AI Council. This initiative is aimed at embedding ethical AI development at the core of the company's mission and industry proposition. Qlik aims to accelerate the responsible development of its AI-driven product portfolio with advice from some of the world's most celebrated AI experts.

Qlik's recent Generative AI Benchmark Report revealed that 31% of senior executives plan to invest over $10m in generative AI initiatives in the coming year. Moreover, 79% of these executives have already committed funds towards generative AI tools or projects.

However, they recognise the necessity to attach data strategies to extract their maximum potential. Additionally, there is an understanding that if the foundational data of AI is not suitably regulated, this could pose serious threats to business operations. Qlik's AI Council is set up to guide customers through these challenges and recommend best practices.

The members of the AI Council will be influential within Qlik in guiding R&D direction, informing the product roadmap and ensuring Qlik's AI use centres around responsibility and ethics. The council's role will also be to educate Qlik's leaders and employees on fully harnessing AI's potential while providing insights into the needs of business leaders tasked with proving the worth from AI expenditure.

Members of the AI Council include renowned experts such as Nina Schick, a world-leading authority on generative AI; Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, an applied algorithmic ethics pioneer and founder of Humane Intelligence; Kelly Forbes, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the AI Asia Pacific Institute, and Dr. Michael Bronstein, DeepMind Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Oxford.

"The formation of Qlik's AI Council is a significant strategic advance, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to progressing AI with ethical principles at its foundation," said Mike Capone, CEO of Qlik.

"Our objective is clear: to allow our customers to harness AI in a way that is not just transformative but responsible; To bring together leading AI experts to sharpen our focus on delivering AI solutions that are not just state-of-the-art, but also seamlessly integrated and regulated."

Rumman Chowdhury, member of Qlik's AI Council, echoed this vision stating: "We have reached an inflection point where innovations like generative AI are impacting the world similarly to how the internet did."

"This is not a time for complacency. Adopting AI is not as straightforward as some suggest, but getting left behind is a risky game. By taking responsible steps, organisations can enter a phase of unprecedented innovation and I look forward to contributing to this evolution."

The newly minted AI Council also has its advocates in the industry. Stephanie Robinson, IT Business Intelligence Manager at JBS, stated how Qlik's advancements in AI, "Embody a responsible and pragmatic approach to enterprise AI development. Qlik's focus on enhancing AI applications aligns with our concentration on employing technology to facilitate significant business outcomes."