Boards are increasingly told that their organisation is adopting artificial intelligence. Far fewer boards can say, with confidence, that they know how it is being governed. These five questions are where that confidence begins.
These are the questions we help boards work through, and the foundation of GRC Academy's Governing AI Use in the Organisation course.
Do we know what AI we are already using?
Most organisations are further into AI adoption than their leadership realises, through tools embedded in software the organisation already runs. The first step in governance is simply knowing what is in use, and what it touches.
Who is accountable when an AI system is wrong?
AI does not remove accountability; it relocates it. If a system makes or influences a consequential decision, someone must own the outcome. If no one can be named, that is the gap to close first.
What data are these systems relying on?
An AI system is only as sound as the data behind it. Boards should understand what data their systems depend on, whether the organisation is entitled to use it, and what happens when it is wrong.
How would we know if something went wrong?
Adoption without monitoring is exposure. The organisation needs a way to detect when an AI system behaves in ways that were not intended, and a route to intervene.
Is our governance enabling adoption or blocking it?
Governance that simply says no drives AI use underground. The goal is a framework clear enough that teams can move quickly within it, so that responsible adoption is the faster path.
Building this capability across the board and executive team is what GRC Academy's AI for Leaders and Managers course is designed to do.
In short
A board does not need to understand the mathematics of artificial intelligence. It needs to understand who is accountable, what the risks are, and how it would know if something went wrong. Those are governance questions, and they belong in the boardroom.