Treat governance as an enabler, not gatekeeper
We need to stop treating governance as a gatekeeper. It’s supposed to give teams safe lanes to use AI, rather than forcing them underground. But when overly restrictive, slow or poorly implemented, AI governance can have the opposite unintended effect — actually forcing shadow AI in the name of productivity.
Instead, provide sanctioned AI tools when possible, vet new ones with ease and, when there’s a cause for concern, be transparent about the reasons so new solutions or tools can be explored. When the official path is easy, there’s less incentive to go rogue.
Without centralized governance, many AI tools are emerging in the shadows. This leads to higher risk, blind spots for compliance and security and a missed opportunity to scale responsibly. To avoid this, we don’t need to bring the hammer down on the employees using shadow AI, but instead, implement easier, faster, more comprehensive ways to assess risk. And the best way to do this is by using AI itself.
