AI GovernanceCenter

In practice

A better decision
starts before the decision.

Clarify the purpose, establish who may act, and keep people able to understand and direct the work.

Governing AIAI for governance

01 / Governing AI

Questions worth
asking early.

Use these as starting points for discussion. Return to them when the work, the people, or the risks change.

What are we trying to achieve?

Describe the human purpose before choosing a tool. Be clear about what a useful outcome would look like and who should benefit.

  • What problem needs attention?
  • Who could be affected, including people outside the team?
  • What would make this use of AI inappropriate?
Who has authority to decide?

Name the person or body directing the work. Distinguish what a system can technically do from what it is allowed to do.

  • Which decisions may be delegated?
  • What limits apply to data, commitments, and actions?
  • When must a question return to a person with the right authority?
How will we know when to act?

Oversight needs information that arrives in time, in a form people can use. A report alone does not help if nobody can respond to it.

  • What evidence tells us whether the work is serving its purpose?
  • What changes or errors should trigger review?
  • Who can pause, correct, or stop the work?
Who will answer for the outcome?

Keep the link between authority and answerability clear. People affected by a decision need a way to question it and seek a response.

  • Who can explain the decision and its basis?
  • How can errors be challenged and harm addressed?
  • What should change after we learn from the outcome?

02 / AI for governance

Support the work.
Exercise judgment.

These illustrative situations show where AI may help. Each still needs people who can examine the work and direct what happens next.

Before a meeting

Prepare a clearer picture.

AI can help organize a large pack of material, identify open questions, and draft a brief. A responsible person checks the source material, corrects omissions, and decides what the meeting needs to consider.

The question: Can participants trace the brief’s claims back to the evidence?

While considering a choice

Give alternatives a fair hearing.

AI can help articulate options, surface assumptions, and explore who may be affected. The decision-makers weigh those perspectives and make their reasons clear.

The question: Which important perspective might still be missing?

After a decision

Keep sight of commitments.

AI can help organize actions and bring changes to attention. People confirm what has happened, consider its significance, and decide whether the original direction still holds.

The question: Who will act when the evidence calls for a change?

Use words that keep the distinctions clear.

Read our shared vocabulary