Data Governance from an AI Perspective
ChatGPT represents so many new possibilities, but can it go further than that? Can it really replace humans?
There’s no doubt that the hottest toy in the technology world currently is ChatGPT. With 100 million unique visitors per month, this new toy is clearly intriguing people with its capabilities. It represents so many possibilities for how technology can save us time by doing a lot of the thinking for us. Can it go further than that, though? Can it really replace humans?
This is something I wanted to test. Can ChatGPT explain the complex concepts we deal with on a daily basis? Something I’d been thinking about recently is what a company without any data governance would look like. So, why not see what ChatGPT thinks?
To keep things simple, I asked just one question: What does a lack of data governance look like?
Talk data to me
At a glance, the response from ChatGPT was impressive. The content is clear and relevant and covers many of the topics you’d expect to see in any response to a question on data governance.
The absence of clear data policies and procedures can result in a proliferation of inconsistent, inaccurate, and outdated data.
When we talk about a lack of data governance, these are the risks that we usually discuss. Data-quality issues are often a symptom that indicates you may have a proliferation of poorly governed data. This often manifests in poor reporting, slow processing and even increased processing costs.
Another major issue with a lack of data governance is that it can lead to a culture of non-compliance. When there are no clear guidelines or policies in place, employees may feel free to use data in whatever way they see fit.
Culture is an extremely important but often overlooked element of data governance. Having a clear vision of why people should care about governance, having training and guidance available, and nurturing a positive perception of data governance can bring results from your data governance program.
Whose data is it anyway?
A lack of data governance can make it difficult to identify who is responsible for managing and protecting specific data assets, leading to confusion and a lack of accountability.
Data governance is a business issue — ensuring that someone is accountable for the data and how it’s used is vital to ensuring your data does what you need it to do. Who do you go to if the data for your report isn’t available or if it’s wrong? What if you want to understand what data is telling you or where it originated?
All these issues can be solved by effective ownership and stewardship of data. These owners already exist in nearly every business. They may not be formally recognised but there will be someone who can answer these questions (and probably has to repeatedly).
The value proposition
Finally, a lack of data governance can negatively impact an organization’s ability to leverage data to drive growth and innovation. Without clear data policies and procedures in place, it can be challenging to make the most of the data that the organization holds, as well as to quickly respond to changes in the business landscape.
So often, data governance is perceived as a barrier to innovation — the “data police” coming to stop me from doing the things I need to do to drive value. In reality, this is far from the truth. Data governance can act as an enabler by giving you confidence in the data you’re processing, thereby allowing businesses to make data-driven decisions faster.
We’re moving into a world where companies are starting to understand that data is an asset with intrinsic value that’s just waiting to be discovered. Data governance is one of the most important tools to help organizations unlock value by ensuring that data is available, accurate, and of sufficient quality to derive insights and drive decision-making.
ChatGPT’s conclusion
In conclusion, a lack of data governance can have far-reaching and serious consequences for organizations. It is therefore essential for organizations to prioritize the implementation of a robust data governance program, in order to ensure the responsible and effective management of their data assets.
Yes. But …
What ChatGPT doesn’t say is that everyone has some data governance. There are almost always governance processes occurring, even if they’re in an informal way. Maybe it’s the one, closely guarded spreadsheet that everyone uses across the business. Or maybe it’s the monthly tidy-up or reconciliation exercise you have for some of your data. There’s always data that’s held dearer than others, and those assets often are governed, even if it’s not officially called “data governance.” Without any governance, customers couldn’t be matched to transactions or payments, data wouldn’t be structured in tables or databases, and people wouldn’t even be able to log into systems.
What’s important is how you find and leverage existing practices and how you grow that across your organization. Formalize what works today and use that as a basis for growing your governance program. Remember: think big, start small, scale fast.
The ‘real’ conclusion
So, is ChatGPT about to replace us all while taking the thinking out of data governance? Fortunately, not yet.
If you don’t know where to start, ChatGPT can definitely provide some good ideas about where to look. However, there’s a lot of nuance to how organizations operate, meaning there’s rarely a cookie-cutter approach that will work in every situation. Experience is invaluable to be able to understand the specific challenges an organization is facing, as well as the context of those challenges.
ChatGPT may be able to tell you what data governance is, but it won’t be able to tell you how to do it for your organization.
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