Artificial intelligence (AI) is going to become part of the toolkit for IROs in the future, according to Nimesh Davé, president at Notified.
Speaking to IR Magazine at the NIRI 2023 Annual Conference, Davé explained how AI will augment what IROs can do and how it will help make their application of technology and ability to give answers that are customized to segments ‘much more powerful’.
‘AI is an interesting topic in general,’ he said. ‘The most important thing about AI is to understand that it’s a collection of learnings and has the ability to process vast [amounts] of data in an instant and get an answer.’
Multiple purposes of AI
While AI continues to take shape, IROs are still the bridge between stakeholders and real human communication and interaction, Davé explained. With regulation coming into place across Europe, he offered his thoughts on whether AI needs to be regulated on a global scale.
‘AI can be used for multiple purposes and it’s very early in the governance cycle so it’s hard to say what will happen with it, but I do think you need to use AI responsibly,’ he said.
Looking at the risks associated with AI that IROs should be aware of, Davé discussed the importance of data privacy and using it correctly in the right domain: ‘With AI, you’re going to get more and more information and more specific information, which gives you the ability to target certain groups differently. I think you still have to be responsible with that information and not use it to basically drive up stock values.’
AI enters the boardroom
When asked whether AI could replace the role of an IR team, Davé said it will do the opposite and instead help augment the role.
‘The other thing we’ll see happen is that as AI starts to enter the boardroom and every company, it’s going to be the first time that IROs will get a larger portion of the budget to be able to communicate not only with institutional investors, but also with the retail investor base, which is really changing with a new generation of investors,’ he said.
