At the chamber of commerce’s annual general meeting on March 19, Estevan business leaders gathered to learn from guest speaker Curtis Adair, a partner with MNP, about security threats and the role of artificial intelligence in business.
” AI can change the world for smaller businesses, but without a stable, resilient tech ecosystem and well-defined, adherence-to-policy, we introduce threats that put sensitive business activities in danger,” Adair said.
When adopting AI-driven systems, he emphasized that data safety, dignity, and protection from cyberattacks must be top priorities.
” Think of AI like a person working for you. You don’t want to give them all, he said. It’s actually thinking about what’s important to the outcome or reason we’re trying to achieve.
Adair noted that more people are unaware that little business attacks are popular.
He added that cyberattacks can have devastating economic effects because, according to the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, roughly 44 % of small businesses have reported them in the last year. ” The Canadian Chamber of Commerce reported that 41 % of small businesses in Canada indicated that the financial impact of an attack was about$ 100, 000,” according to the chamber of commerce. That can be very crippling.
He issued a warning about emerging challenges like deepfakes and AI-generated scams.
Consider the potential for hackers to essentially mimic you because they can obtain an image or video from a social media platform, he said, noting that AI-generated avatars could effectively mimic real people, putting a risk on both businesses and individual identities.
Adair urged participants to promote security training, adopt strict data entry controls, and constantly update security software in order to protect their businesses.
” Zero faith is a place where things get started,” he said. Take some time to examine your business. Understand the information you have. Have a list of your information, records, and other items you plan to include in or reference this to.
He also urged businesses to focus on smaller, manageable projects and taking a cautious approach to AI adoption.
” AI is a copilot,” the saying goes. He claimed that the pilot is not involved. Never hold the impression that these Orion will manage your company in the most ethical and practical manner once they are implemented. You’ll have to take this out. It is meant to serve as an associate.
Adair gave examples of AI tools that can aid companies, from enhancing supply chains to automated administrative tasks. He cited AI-enabled timing and invoice processing as useful business uses that can save time and money.
Merissa Scarlett, the executive director of the room, thanked Adair for his insight.