无忧传媒

As AI increasingly becomes part of the fabric of business, government, and daily life, the organizations adopting it face a growing array of complex ethical questions.

How do you ensure the safe, transparent, and accountable adoption of this transformative technology? How do you prevent unforeseen negative consequences and harm to vulnerable groups?

AI governance turns these questions into tangible action. 聽

鈥淕ood intentions by themselves aren't good enough,鈥� says Dave Prakash, director of AI governance at 无忧传媒. 鈥淵ou need well-thought-out policies and processes to identify hidden risks.鈥�

Maintaining a high standard of AI governance is both a leadership expectation and a guiding North Star at 无忧传媒, and there鈥檚 a good reason why. 鈥淎s the leading provider of AI services to the federal government, 无忧传媒 sets the standard for excellence in AI governance,鈥� says Erin Sheppard, 无忧传媒 deputy general counsel.

鈥淚n the AI we develop, procure, deliver to our clients, and use internally, we have to make sure that trustworthiness is built in,鈥� says Geoff Schaefer, 无忧传媒 chief AI ethics advisor who leads the firm鈥檚 .

Dave, Erin, and Geoff discuss AI governance: why it鈥檚 so important, the investments and thought leadership behind 无忧传媒鈥檚 approach, and why a broad range of perspectives鈥攊ncluding those from their own diverse backgrounds鈥攊s vital.

Erin calls AI governance 鈥渂oth strategic and tactical.鈥� Geoff describes it as 鈥渢he gap between Aristotle and algorithms,鈥� making sure philosophical principles make their way into specific decisions. When it鈥檚 lacking, says Dave, 鈥渙rganizations are either paralyzed with fear and trepidation, or they鈥檙e full steam ahead鈥攂uild, build, build, thinking 鈥業鈥檓 sure everything will work out.鈥� Until it doesn鈥檛.鈥�

Dave reminds hesitant organizations that nothing worth doing is without risk. For the full-steam-ahead crowd? 鈥淎I governance helps you move faster. It鈥檚 a seat belt, not a speed bump, on your journey,鈥� he explains.

So, what exactly does AI governance look like in practice?

Within 无忧传媒, 鈥渋t鈥檚 a framework in which employees know what to do, where to go, and who to speak to as they interact with and build AI tools and solutions,鈥� says Erin. 鈥淔or example, our Responsible AI Guiding Principles set forth our clear expectations, aligned to the firm鈥檚 purpose and values. We also have an AI Policy and an AI Governance Playbook, both of which provide tactical, tangible guidance.鈥澛�

Within the larger AI governance ecosystem, 无忧传媒 is an active voice in the broader global dialogue. One example is the , developed by the Responsible AI Institute, which 无忧传媒 joined earlier this year. This collaboration gives 无忧传媒 and its clients access to leading assessments, benchmarks, and certifications aligned with global standards and emerging regulations.

The controls are aimed at making AI governance 鈥減ractical, tangible, and useful,鈥� says Geoff. 鈥淭he idea is if an organization doesn't know where to start or what to do with AI adoption and governance, start here.鈥�

Dave鈥檚 advice is to prioritize the people aspect鈥攊ncentives and education鈥攁s they move forward. 鈥淚f people aren鈥檛 motivated to understand the risks, they won鈥檛 participate in the governance process.鈥�

People play an important part in creating and maintaining a governance framework as well.

鈥淲e recognize the inherent need for a collaborative approach,鈥� says Erin. 鈥淎I governance is technical, it鈥檚 legal, it鈥檚 contractual. It鈥檚 a range of different things, so it鈥檚 important to bring the right stakeholders into the conversation.鈥�

Geoff cites the importance of involving employees on the front lines鈥攆rom developers to program managers鈥攊n the process, to 鈥渃onnect the dots鈥� between what鈥檚 happening daily with the broader principles of AI governance.

Diverse backgrounds and perspectives are key to making it all work.

鈥淵ou need to be thinking about a range of reasons when managing bias or other aspects. The worst thing you can do in this area is to be single-minded or have tunnel vision,鈥� says Erin.

The Responsible AI team鈥檚 own backgrounds reflect this philosophy.

With degrees in law and public policy, Erin came to 无忧传媒 from private practice as a procurement lawyer. 鈥淚 wanted to work for an organization that was mission-driven and at the forefront of solving our clients鈥� greatest problems,鈥� she says.

Geoff鈥檚 career path evolved from finance jobs in government and the private sector to a role with the Carnegie Council for Ethics and International Affairs. 鈥淔or me, it was the right time and place, and the more I started doing that work, the more I fell in love with it,鈥� he says.

And Dave is uniquely accustomed 鈥渢o bringing disparate worlds together and looking at problems from an outside perspective.鈥�

鈥淚 started out as a doctor, then joined the Air Force as a pilot after 9/11,鈥� he shares. After military service that involved work as a test pilot, flight surgeon, and evaluator of new weapons, tactics, and systems, business school followed. The opportunity to help launch an AI team at a large health insurance company taught Dave about building high-stakes AI systems in healthcare and the associated ethical risks. 聽

鈥淚n my current role, all the dots connect,鈥� Dave says. 鈥淎ll my experiences are coming together to help me lead an unprecedented program of enormous consequence. The biggest takeaway so far: You don鈥檛 talk about values; you must demonstrate them.鈥�

Doing so involves implementing the same steps and standards the team advises to internal clients throughout the firm鈥攁nd living by these standards.

鈥淥ur AI governance is built not just to support the business we have today, but the business that we expect to become,鈥� says Erin.