The gap between investment and governance is the part that should worry boards most. A McKinsey survey found that only 28% of organisations say the CEO takes direct responsibility for AI governance oversight, and just 17% say their board does. Cristina’s point about it being a leadership competency rather than an IT problem is the reframe that most regulated industries need, because right now the people buying the tools and the people responsible for compliance are often in completely different conversations. Which of the four pillars do you see senior leaders finding hardest to action in practice?
Thank you Melanie for reading and for the insightful comment. Absolutely, governance shouldn’t be at the forefront and its need to be a priority for leadership. I think fairness is the hardest pillar to achieve. The other three are organizational issues but fairness is complicated and the harm might be invisible at first.
There certainly is a gap between governance and investment. Somehow with AI, many think governance is not needed because of the misconception that AI just knows everything
One pillar that I have been diving deeper into recently is ownership, its very clear that AI can’t be held accountable, it it can’t, then its the human/ organization that bears that responsibility. Governance as you said should not be administered just for margin boosting, but to avoid real harm, and hold parties accountable when things go wrong.
This is exactly why choosing the right leader is the highest priority — and why the project management role is more critical than ever.
The leader decides what continues and what stops. No algorithm carries that responsibility. As AI takes over analytical tasks, emotional intelligence becomes the most critical competency — the human voice is the only reliable governance layer that cannot be automated.
The future of responsible AI isn't a better framework. It's a better leader.
Leaders own the outcome, even when the system makes the decision.
I agree, John. Or at least, they should own it or be held accountable.
The gap between investment and governance is the part that should worry boards most. A McKinsey survey found that only 28% of organisations say the CEO takes direct responsibility for AI governance oversight, and just 17% say their board does. Cristina’s point about it being a leadership competency rather than an IT problem is the reframe that most regulated industries need, because right now the people buying the tools and the people responsible for compliance are often in completely different conversations. Which of the four pillars do you see senior leaders finding hardest to action in practice?
Thank you Melanie for reading and for the insightful comment. Absolutely, governance shouldn’t be at the forefront and its need to be a priority for leadership. I think fairness is the hardest pillar to achieve. The other three are organizational issues but fairness is complicated and the harm might be invisible at first.
There certainly is a gap between governance and investment. Somehow with AI, many think governance is not needed because of the misconception that AI just knows everything
Thanks for sharing this Joel and Kristina!
One pillar that I have been diving deeper into recently is ownership, its very clear that AI can’t be held accountable, it it can’t, then its the human/ organization that bears that responsibility. Governance as you said should not be administered just for margin boosting, but to avoid real harm, and hold parties accountable when things go wrong.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Ashwin.
That is a great point, Ashwin!
This is exactly why choosing the right leader is the highest priority — and why the project management role is more critical than ever.
The leader decides what continues and what stops. No algorithm carries that responsibility. As AI takes over analytical tasks, emotional intelligence becomes the most critical competency — the human voice is the only reliable governance layer that cannot be automated.
The future of responsible AI isn't a better framework. It's a better leader.
Critical thinking and emotional intelligence are definitely key ingredients, even more so now, of successful leadership.
100%!
Exactly! Human flaws remain with ai
Without clear accountability, executives risk legal, reputational, and moral consequences that no tool or workflow can fix.
100%! That should be posted on a wall
Absolutely, and that will also cost them a lot of money in the long run.
Leaders can’t delegate responsibility for impact.
exactly! AI takes no blame
Exactly, Dennis, they can try but it’s not a valuable strategy in the long term.
We're getting there.
We are!!!
Thank you for bringing up this very important topic, Cristina and Joel.
So critical!
Thank you, Anna, for reading! 🤗 ❤️