New research claims that 93 per cent of Australian organisations are planning to ban ChatGPT and other generative AI tools in the workplace.
Almost 70 per cent of Aussie IT decision-makers considering banning the tools have said that the prohibition will be long-term or permanent with previous cybersecurity breaches, data security and privacy and bans put in place by other organisations given as reasons. More than 95 per cent said that unsecured apps pose a cybersecurity threat to their corporate IT environment.
This compares to just three-quarters of global IT decision-makers considering banning the tools.
However, the majority of Aussie businesses recognise the opportunity that AI offers to attract younger talent (Australia the highest at 58 per cent), as well as increase efficiency, innovation and enhance creativity (all next at 54 per cent).
Jonathan Jackson, Director of Engineering for BlackBerry Cybersecurity in Asia Pacific and Japan, which carried out the research said: “We are witnessing growing concerns among Australian and New Zealand organisations as they grapple with the impact of Generative AI apps in the workplace. In less than a year, Generative AI has accomplished what no other technology has – revolutionising content creation and the way people work, but there are also a lot of unknowns.
“We believe businesses can lose out on valuable innovation by taking a heavy-handed approach to company-wide bans on ‘risky apps’ when there is an easier path forward. We urge companies to keep up-to-date on the risks, but remain flexible, re-visit policies and ensure the right software tools are in place for visibility, monitoring and management of apps used in the workplace,” he added.
The advertising industry seems to be between a rock and a hard place on AI. Google, for example, has released AI tools to boost ecommerce marketing and Facebook has been touting the ability of AI to quickly produce ads at industry conferences. However, companies such as M&C Saatchi-owned Re have introduced AI working principles that limit the amount of time and involvement its staff can have with the tools.
