85% Surveyed Lacks AI Training and Knowledge – ISACA

In a survey of 3,270 digital trust experts conducted by ISACA, just 15% of companies had AI policies, and 40% did not provide any AI training at all. These disparities are alarming since, according to 70% of respondents, employees use artificial intelligence (AI), and 60% claim they use generative AI, which includes tools like Microsoft CoPilot, Google Gemini, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The ISACA Poll Showed the Most Common Uses of AI :

• Increasing productivity (35%)
• Automating repetitive tasks (33%)
• Creating written content (33%)

According to 81% of respondents, misinformation/disinformation is the biggest AI concern, and a whopping 60% expressed worry or extreme worry that dishonest people may take advantage of generative AI. However, just 35% of respondents claim that their company immediately prioritizes AI concerns.

According to respondents, AI will have a major influence on jobs; 45% predict that many occupations will be destroyed and 80% predict that many jobs would be transformed during the next five years. Professionals in the domains of information security, governance, risk, and privacy, however, have a more upbeat outlook on their own careers. Seventy-eight percent predict that AI will either positively or neutrally affect their jobs.

85% of them believe they will need to improve their AI knowledge and abilities over the next two years in order to get that neutral or positive impact and to maintain or progress their professions.

“AI is moving at a speed we haven’t seen before, with its use in organizations outpacing the policies, training and skills that are absolutely critical for making sure it is used securely,” said Shannon Donahue, ISACA Chief Content and Publishing Officer. “AI is quickly becoming a business imperative, and ISACA is fully committed to providing the tools, resources and training to help individuals and enterprises thrive in an AI world.”

“While there are many unknowns when it comes to AI’s trajectory, one thing is clear—digital trust professionals must prioritize AI education and training to harness the technology’s value, enhance their own skillset, and evolve and advance their careers with the changing times,” says RV Raghu, Director at Versatilist Consulting India Pvt Ltd, and ISACA India Ambassador.  

ISACA releases a series on-demand AI training to address this knowledge gap with three courses launching today:

• AI Essentials—Explores foundational principles and applications of AI and provides a comprehensive overview of core AI concepts, algorithms and application of AI
• Auditing Generative AI: Strategy, Analysis and Risk Mitigation—Explores generative AI, including considerations of usage, associated risks, and its impact on auditing processes, with emphasis on security, ethical considerations, data governance, and compliance with regulations
• AI Governance: Principles, Strategies and Business Alignment—Explores how governance practices apply throughout the AI lifecycle, from development and implementation to ongoing monitoring and maintenance, ensuring consistent and effective governance at every stage

These new courses join additional AI-focused resources from ISACA, including:

• A new book titled Artificial Intelligence: A Primer on Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Neural Networks
• Artificial Intelligence Audit Toolkit
• Using the Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework to Achieve Trustworthy AI white paper
• An AI acceptable use policy template (one of 15 IS/IT policies available in ISACA’s Policy Template Library)

To Access These and Other ISACA Resources Around AI: www.isaca.org/ai