Artificial intelligence adoption has many complexities, challenges and opportunities, such as the promise of innovation tempered with responsible governance.

As the journey toward AI maturity continues, SAS Institute Inc. is set to help organizations navigate the complexities of AI adoption with foresight and an unwavering commitment to delivering tangible business value.

“On the generative front, it’s not instant value, unfortunately,” said Jay Upchurch (pictured), chief information officer of SAS. “That’s created this concept that I keep calling shadow AI … that means it’s without some of the IT guardrails or the security guardrails that are required to make sure that we’re doing it safe and effectively.”

Upchurch spoke with theCUBE Research’s Dave Vellante and John Furrier at SAS Innovate, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the significant strides taken since the last SAS event, so-called shadow AI and the momentum behind SAS’ commitment to “doing it right” in the realm of AI. (* Disclosure below.)

Jay Upchurch of SAS talks to theCUBE about AI adoption and shadow AI at SAS Innovate 2024.

Opportunities and risks of AI adoption

Organizations face multifaceted challenges and opportunities with AI adoption, which calls for a robust infrastructure alongside evolving applications. AI is playing a pivotal role in transforming both internal operations at SAS and the experiences of its cloud-managed customers, according to Upchurch.

“We put in some guardrails around watching data flow in and out to make sure that there’s not things going to places that it shouldn’t,” he said. “I do have some customers, especially in sensitive areas like defense and others that are like, ‘Yeah, I just don’t even have that as an option. I’ve got to keep everything inside of that tight bubble, lock it down in those cases.’ That’s tough.”

Amid the promise of AI lies the specter of shadow AI, where unregulated experimentation poses risks of data leakage and security breaches, making governance and compliance frameworks even more important, Upchurch pointed out.

“I think there was a lot of public opinion about what the governing rules should be, and there were a lot of governing bodies coming together to meet to talk about it,” he said. “The problem with shadow AI is that the risks are higher. Suddenly, proprietary data, confidential data unintentionally leaving your premises, going out to an open language model. Next thing you know you’ve got leakage ,and that’s a big problem for our customers.”

Aligning AI initiatives with business strategy

It is crucial that companies align AI initiatives with broader business strategy. Technology is but a tool, with the true value derived from its alignment with organizational goals and processes, Upchurch explained. Using a more holistic approach, AI serves as an enabler for productivity gains and process reengineering rather than a standalone solution.

“Those are techniques and tools to realize your business strategy,” he said. “If you don’t start with that end in mind, I’m creating technology and solutions without a problem, and then I have something and I’m shopping it around to find the problem, that’s not going to keep me in my job very long.”

For its part, SAS is committed to delivering tangible outcomes in the realm of AI innovation. As the market clamors for enterprise examples of AI delivering real results, SAS remains poised to meet this demand through a blend of technological prowess, strategic partnerships and a steadfast commitment to responsible AI adoption.

“I think the gen AI front is very real,” Upchurch said. “I think the market is hungry for enterprise examples of gen AI delivering real results. I think SAS is well poised to do that.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE Research’s coverage of SAS Innovate:

(* Disclosure: SAS Institute Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither SAS nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE