4. Consider engaging an auditor to monitor AI security, governance, and compliance

There will always be corporate functions — sales, marketing, engineering — that will want to skip governance and get to running AI systems. In companies that stress R&D, there might even be some resistance from the board and CEO, who want to avoid “red tape” and slowdowns.

Regardless of company culture, it will be up to the CIO to advocate for system security, compliance, and governance to ensure AI safety and risk management. CIOs can get around this quandary by hiring an outside audit firm to monitor AI systems for security, governance, and compliance, regularly reporting to the board and citing any irregularities that must be corrected.

5. Pick the right vendors

Vendors offering AI systems or services must have the same level of commitment to quality AI that your company does. AI vendors should be vetted not only for their products and the data that they use, but for the strength of their support, security, governance, compliance, and ability to recover from a disaster.