When it comes to AI, in the boardroom there is recognition that something material is changing.  But there isn’t always a shared view of where it sits, who owns it or how it should shape decisions.  This gap matters and, with AI, the optics of governance can arrive well before the substance.

Developing frameworks and committees bring structure, provide a common language and signal that an issue is being taken seriously – but AI does not behave like traditional technology.  AI-enabled features appear inside mainstream tools and its capability can span processes, functions and suppliers in ways that are not immediately visible.  In a recent Risk Coalition roundtable, Pauline Norstrom, characterised this as an iceberg problem, and discussed the risks and challenges that all boards need to be aware of.