I help Boards, CEOs & Executives lead bold transformation, implement AI strategy, uplift board governance & scale with confidence by embedding AI trust and governance | Chartered Board Director | 🇨🇦🇬🇧
Boards That Don’t Understand AI Won’t Survive the Next 3 Years—Here’s How to Build Real Oversight AI has moved from experimental to essential. Yet too often, board discussions remain high-level and detached. As AI becomes embedded across products, operations, customer experience, and risk, boards must deepen their understanding—not just ask better questions, but grasp the answers. The goal isn’t technical expertise; it’s cultivating the judgement, fluency, and frameworks to govern an AI-enabled organisation with confidence. In 2023, Australian fintech startup MyGovID faced scrutiny when its AI-powered identity verification system wrongly flagged a significant number of valid users. The board had signed off on the system’s deployment but lacked the technical depth to challenge how bias and error handling were embedded. Public trust eroded, and regulatory investigations followed. So what does this tackle? AI may scale business value—but without board-level understanding, it can also scale risk at speed. → Boards unable to oversee AI strategy, ethics, and compliance with confidence → Executive teams implementing AI without effective challenge or guidance → Stakeholders demanding transparency around AI use, fairness, and accountability Why Does It Matter? → Stronger Risk Management: Boards can better foresee legal, ethical, and reputational risks. → Sharper Strategy Oversight: Informed boards guide AI investment, innovation, and performance. → Greater Stakeholder Trust: Leadership in AI governance builds public trust and market credibility. I had the opportunity to work with the Board and Exec team of midmarket firm last year, we established an internal AI oversight playbook and rotating deep-dive sessions with both AI engineers and external ethicists. Within two quarters, the board was asking better questions, spotting blind spots earlier, and even pausing a model deployment based on new risk insights. Based on my work with experts, here are 5 actions to Strengthen Board AI Capability → Assess AI Literacy: Evaluate each director’s AI understanding and tailor development plans. → Bring in AI Expertise: Appoint an AI advisor or ensure access to one for ongoing guidance. → Integrate AI into Strategy: Embed AI into discussions on customers, talent, cybersecurity, and risk. → Formalise AI Governance: Set clear policies on ethical use, explainability, and model risk management. → Promote Continuous Learning: Encourage directors to join AI events and share insights regularly. Questions for Your Next Board Session • How critical is AI to our business model over the next 3 years—and how equipped are we to govern it now? • How does our board stay informed on AI-related ethical, legal, and social risks—without relying solely on management? Steven PAUL, CDir FIoD – sharing a decade of boardroom actionable insights on effectiveness, Gen AI, innovation and growth. ♻️ If you found value here, share forward, follow for more or let's connect.
AI is here to stay, and boards need to catch up! Great suggestions on building that capability. Steven PAUL,
An excellent post Steven PAUL, CDir FIoD, a timely reminder that boards of directors are confronting an ever-expanding list of critical, complex topics many of which reflect powerful external trends and disruptions. For the past few years, that list has been driven by an increased urgency to address climate and sustainability issues, and that imperative continues. But other issues—such as the rising importance of generative AI (GenAI) and intensifying trade and geopolitical disruptions have also become a central part of the board agenda. These interconnected dynamics are forcing directors to navigate an increasingly unpredictable environment filled with conflicting and often politically charged demands. The difficulty to fully understand the nuances and consequences can leave boards uncertain and, at times, even paralyzed, potentially leading to delayed decisions and missed opportunities that undermine long-term performance and growth.
I help Boards, CEOs & Executives lead bold transformation, implement AI strategy, uplift board governance & scale with confidence by embedding AI trust and governance | Chartered Board Director | 🇨🇦🇬🇧
1wCompetent AI oversight is fast becoming a board’s license to operate. This isn’t about chasing hype—it’s about building fluency in the technologies reshaping your organisation’s future. What’s one step your board will take this quarter to move from AI awareness to real AI accountability?