The AI Governance Playbook

Forget the hype and the hypotheticals; the biggest threat from artificial intelligence isn't a distant sci-fi scenario—it's the immediate, tangible risk of ungoverned AI already operating inside your business. This is The AI Governance Playbook, your essential guide to navigating the most critical business challenge of the 21st century. As organizations rush to deploy AI, they're stepping into a minefield of financial, legal, and reputational risks. We've all seen the headlines: a single chatbot error erasing $100 billion in shareholder value, biased algorithms leading to legal nightmares, and a staggering 42% of AI projects failing outright, not because of faulty tech, but due to a catastrophic lack of governance. This book cuts through the noise to provide a clear, actionable framework for leaders who need to turn this risk into a decisive competitive advantage.

This playbook is your step-by-step guide to mastering AI governance. It demystifies the technology without a single line of code, using simple analogies to explain complex concepts like LLMs and the AI data pipeline. You'll learn how to build a modern AI governance team, from the Chief AI Officer to the AI Ethicist, and understand why these roles command a 56% wage premium in today's market. We'll walk through the globally recognized NIST AI Risk Management Framework, showing you how to adapt it to your existing business processes. You'll get practical tools like model cards and AI risk registers to ensure transparency and manage the “black box” problem. We explore how to navigate the complex global legal landscape, from the EU AI Act to the patchwork of US state laws, and provide a harmonized approach to compliance. Most importantly, you'll discover how to create a culture of responsible AI use, manage the human side of change, and communicate AI risk and ROI effectively to your board. Finally, we'll show you how to leverage your commitment to AI ethics as a powerful brand differentiator, winning customer trust in an increasingly skeptical world.

What sets The AI Governance Playbook apart is its relentless focus on practical application and strategic value, designed specifically for business leaders, not just technologists. While other books get lost in abstract ethical debates or dense technical jargon, this playbook provides a clear, actionable framework grounded in the business realities of 2025. It moves beyond the “what” and “why” to deliver the “how”: how to integrate AI risk into existing ERM frameworks like COSO, how to apply a change management model like ADKAR to ensure employee adoption, and how to calculate the tangible ROI of your governance program. It speaks the language of the C-suite, providing dashboard templates and communication strategies to translate technical risk into business impact. This isn't just another book about AI; it's a leader's guide to survival and success in the AI era, turning governance from a perceived cost center into your greatest strategic asset.

Disclaimer: This work is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), or Prosci Inc. The use of trademarks such as AIGP, CIPP, CIPM, NIST AI RMF, COSO, ISO 31000, and ADKAR® is for informational and descriptive purposes only, under the principle of nominative fair use, and does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by the trademark holders.