Why Organizations Should Develop AI Governance Programs

Organizations are increasingly pressurized to deploy AI applications, which can offer immense benefits in terms of innovation and productivity. However, regulatory, legal, and safety concerns make compliance and risk management challenging. To avoid losing a competitive edge, legal departments and IT teams should develop AI governance programs. According to an article by ACC Docket, such programs can help mitigate risks and ensure the ethical and responsible use of AI.

To navigate this dilemma, companies are developing comprehensive AI governance programs that will ensure compliance, evaluate legal risks, secure sensitive information, and drive responsible and safe use of AI. Launching an effective AI governance program involves four major steps.

First, assess the current and targeted compliance and risk requirements. Perform an impact assessment that focuses on people and organizations, identifies departmental stakeholders, and develops roles and responsibilities. Engaging a broad spectrum of stakeholders is essential to assess needs comprehensively and ensure buy-in from all relevant parties.

Second, develop and maintain AI governance policies that outline compliant and responsible AI use, along with updating data retention, security classification, and privacy policies to align with AI governance objectives. These governance policies should detail the compliant and responsible use of AI.

Third, support the policies with governance processes.  Establishing processes for regulatory review, data provenance, privacy, and sensitive information review, ethical use assessment, accuracy, and safety testing will ensure ongoing compliance and ethical deployment of AI systems.

Finally, ensure continuous execution and monitoring of the governance processes, updating systems as needed to comply with evolving regulations, and promptly remediating any issues that arise to demonstrate compliance and defensibility.

Despite the complexities and uncertainties surrounding AI regulation and compliance, organizations can navigate these challenges by embracing AI governance programs that leverage existing legal expertise and foster responsible AI adoption. By adopting a proactive and collaborative approach, companies can harness the benefits of AI while ensuring ethical use and regulatory compliance.