Permissive Governance is the Greatest Risk of AI : YOU are there for a reason

During sports championship seasons around the globe, I am reminded that champions huddle to adjust strategy during the game. The power of a timeout allows for a reset that invariably shifts the mindset and momentum. Timeouts provide space to reassess the situation and chart a more informed, confident way forward in real time. 

Now is the time for boards to call a huddle. Many directors report feeling whipsawed by the speed, complexity and change in this era of governance. AI adds another dimension of a steep learning curve and pressure to make decision quickly. This era and AI must be addressed in the context of  industrialization. We are in the thick of  the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and like every industrial period, the massive disruption and dis-ease require a national industrial policy that is holistic and integrated. So far, the USA’s primary policy statement is, “we must beat China in the AI race.”   

A Goldman Sachs survey reported beginning in 2026, AI-driven layoffs equate to more than 16K payroll cuts per month. Historically, a characteristic of a developed and prosperous economy is maximum utilization of available human & financial capital.  It is reported by 2020, China lifted approx. 800 million people out of poverty over a forty year period.  Based on China’s current industrial policy posture, their plan is to use AI  as an economic multiplier to improve the livelihood of millions more citizens.

Throughout my career, I have been at the forefront of AI/machine learning, ethics and privacy governance. During the past three years, I led & contributed to the first national governance on the ethical & responsible use of Gen & Agentic AI in the legal profession by a state bar that is also used by the Supreme Court of California. The judiciary, by default, has been creating regulatory and governance framework through their rulings and resulting AI case law. Heretofore, AI companies and government have been slow to establish or advocate for a responsible and ethical regulatory framework.

In the absence of national industrial policy, boards have a responsibility to fill the void ensuring organizations fulfill their obligation to do no harm. A focus is required on the ethics, environment and social impact of AI given the disruptive nature to society and the economy. North Stars are innovation, safety, privacy, security, sustainability, transparency & the economy. 

My evolving board governance reflections at this inflection point of AI’s great power, significance and complexity: In the spirit of champions practices, a board huddle is apropos to regroup, reassess, redirect and win! 

• It is becoming increasing clear what is required for boards is generational stewardship deliberations and decisions that reaffirm the organization’s core mandate: why do we exist, what is our role in improving the quality of life and how do we make the world better than we found it? Technology choices, use & investment cases and  risks assessments are extensions of a laser focused mandate.
• Principles as the compass!! Lifted & integrated whole business focus differentiated from current approaches of chasing risks, fear, transactional, scarcity/ control focused and unintegrated thinking & decisions
• Stakeholder considerations include shareholder return. In the absence of foundational clarity, boards/organizations have a stewardship responsibility to PAUSE human capital displacement - headcount cost cutting
• Slow down AI use case decisions/implementation to enable longer term confident, well informed  stewardship decisions
• AI governance requires stewardship decisions that become the lens for technical decisions- declare what the organization stands for in 4IR
• AI board governance requires involvement in shaping the federal, state, local & global regulatory landscape as an accelerant to increased business results and improved quality of life - “doing well by doing good”

Boards must be resolute in shifting their role to stewardship governance with a greater emphasis on foresight and the intolerable labor of collective thought and consensus decision making. Dialogue will reveal that the questions and considerations are many while the answers are few, expressed in an integrated governance framework of principles to be used for decision making. Directors we are there for a reason…our decisions will be of historical consequence. 

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Raquel Brigham Brown

‘25 vice chair, PE Portfolio Governance Taskforce |‘25 PRISM Moderator 

Raquel is a director and operating advisor to board/CEO teams. Value creation is her passion and lifework. Her board committee service qualifications are AI/cyber, crypto/digital assets, audit, compensation/human capital, ESG, and nom/gov. She's served as an independent and private company director, chair, secretary, and executive committee member. She currently serves on AI & crypto/digital assets board subcommittees. Throughout her career, Raquel has been at the forefront of AI/machine learning, private equity, ethics & privacy governance. She developed expertise and global experience as a founder, COO, and operating advisor working in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Learn more, radicalabundantmindset.