Prof Hinson calls for AI competence among board members

Professor Robert Ebo Hinson has delivered a compelling public lecture on Artificial Intelligence (AI) competence for board members during a Corporate Dialogue Series organised by the Institute of Directors Ghana at the National Insurance Commission Conference Room in Accra.

The lecture formed part of a distinguished book launch ceremony at which Mr. Justice Awuku-Sao officially published five books — four focused on governance and leadership, and one addressing the sensitive and timely subject of emotional cheating and its role in marital collapse.

The event brought together board members, corporate executives, governance professionals, scholars, and members of the wider business community.
In his address, Professor Hinson argued that AI literacy is no longer optional for board members but a foundational requirement for effective governance in an increasingly complex and data-driven economy.

He emphasised that AI should not be perceived as a technological novelty, but as a strategic instrument that strengthens oversight, foresight, and accountability at board level.

He explained that AI enables directors to move beyond passive consumption of board papers toward deeper interrogation of institutional data.

By transforming raw information into actionable intelligence, AI tools can detect hidden trends, surface anomalies, and support predictive performance monitoring. This shift, he noted, equips board members to ask more rigorous, evidence-based questions and reduces overreliance on curated executive summaries.

On the matter of risk oversight — which he described as a board’s sacred duty — Professor Hinson highlighted AI’s capacity for real-time compliance monitoring, fraud detection, cybersecurity surveillance, and ESG risk analysis. He stressed that AI-enabled boards are better positioned to identify emerging threats early, thereby preventing reputational and financial crises.

He further underscored the value of continuous performance monitoring made possible through AI systems. Rather than depending solely on quarterly reports, directors can access early warning indicators related to revenue forecasting, cost leakages, operational inefficiencies, and margin erosion. This real-time visibility, he explained, allows boards to intervene strategically and proactively.

Addressing long-term strategy, Professor Hinson spoke about AI’s ability to support scenario modelling and strategic simulations. Through disruption forecasting, competitive intelligence analysis, and capital planning projections, boards can test multiple futures before committing to major decisions. In his words, this capacity transforms boards from guardians of the present into architects of the future.

He also noted that AI enhances decision credibility without displacing human judgment. Benchmark comparisons, option-ranking models, probability simulations, and stakeholder sentiment analytics provide additional layers of insight that make board decisions more defensible and transparent.

Professor Hinson concluded by encouraging Ghanaian boards across financial services, telecommunications, public institutions, family businesses, and state-owned enterprises to integrate AI competence into board induction processes and continuing professional development programmes.

“Artificial Intelligence does not replace fiduciary wisdom,” he affirmed. “It sharpens it. The future belongs to boards that combine human discernment with intelligent systems.”
The Corporate Dialogue Series and book launch provided a timely platform for advancing governance excellence in Ghana, with AI competence positioned as central to building more informed, anticipatory, accountable, and strategically agile boards.

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