Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the way people live and the way businesses operate across the globe, offering unprecedented opportunities for innovation and efficiency. As our world transforms and we begin to harness the potential of AI technologies, we must recognize the need to deploy these systems safely and responsibly.
While AI has tremendous potential to improve our lives, AI systems can also cause harm by producing unexpected or biased outcomes. These unwanted outcomes result from the very thing that makes AI technology so innovative: AI algorithms constantly learn from new data and user inputs. The constantly evolving nature of AI technologies necessitates continuous oversight to prevent issues such as drift and bias that can lead to significant personal, financial, business, compliance, and reputational risks.
Safely and responsibly deploying AI systems is the responsibility of all stakeholders. Developers, business leaders, regulators, and consumers all have a stake in ensuring AI technologies are used for the betterment of society.
The Need for AI Governance
AI regulation has gained strong bi-partisan support in the U.S., with both parties rushing to ensure its proper use. Currently, there are more than 700 proposed bills (and counting) at the state and federal level that seek to regulate AI in some manner. These proposals are in addition to several already enacted regulations. If even 10% of these proposals become law, that is 70+ new regulations, with potentially hundreds of directives within each. Complying with enacted and future AI regulations will become increasingly complex for organizations. At Synergist Technology, we seek to help organizations address this challenge with our AI governance and compliance platform, AFFIRM.
Streamlining AI Compliance with AFFIRM
Our AFFIRM platform enables organizations to manage all of their AI governance and compliance requirements through a centralized command-and-control center. The platform includes a curated library of external governance frameworks that helps organizations understand which regulations and frameworks apply to their AI systems and use cases. A crucial aspect of effective AI governance and compliance is continuously testing AI systems for accuracy, bias, and fairness. AFFIRM enables organizations to constantly prompt their AI systems to measure performance and detect potential risks before they become larger problems. At Synergist, we organize AI governance and compliance into four key phases: AI Discovery, AI Regulatory Compliance, AI Asset Testing, and AI GRC Reporting. Below, I provide an overview of how AFFIRM guides organizations through each phase.
AI Discovery
In the AI Discovery phase, AFFIRM helps organizations educate their personnel on AI technology and identify what AI systems are being used, where they are being used, and how they are being used. The platform enables organizations to inventory all of their AI systems and use cases in a single, centralized location. Often, clients are unaware of the extent to which AI is being used by their software vendors or by their staff. With the help of AFFIRM, organizations will understand exactly where and how AI is being used. This is the first key component of implementing effective AI governance and compliance.
AI Regulatory Compliance
With over 700 proposed bills aimed at regulating AI, managing compliance with external governance frameworks is going to be a challenge. The AFFIRM platform provides a curated library of external governance requirements, ensuring organizations stay up to date with the latest regulations relevant to their industry, business, and location.
While some organizations may already have internal AI compliance policies, many do not have a comprehensive plan in place. AFFIRM provides templated compliance policies that organizations can use to create internal policies that are designed to align with best practices and regulatory standards, making it easier for organizations to establish compliant AI policies.
Historically, compliance policy reviews have been a stepwise and painstaking process, manually comparing internal policies against external regulations. AFFIRM streamlines this process through human in the loop automated document testing, taking internal policies and testing them against external regulations and highlighting any gaps.
AI Asset Testing
AI asset testing is essential for determining if AI systems are functioning as intended. AFFIRM enables organizations to continuously test and monitor the performance of their AI systems, identifying issues such as drift, bias, and other potential problems. The platform is designed to be agnostic, allowing the testing of almost any AI system and use case.
If an organization wants to deploy a new AI system, AFFIRM provides a process to pre-certify the AI system before it is deployed. This proactive measure is vital for maintaining the integrity and reliability of AI deployments. The pre-certification process involves rigorous testing and validation of the organization’s AI system to determine if it is functioning as intended before it goes into production.
AI GRC Reporting
The AFFIRM platform allows organizations to monitor the performance of AI systems in real-time through its performance dashboard. The dashboard enhances decision-making capabilities with advanced data visualizations and analytics, providing a clear understanding of how AI systems are performing and identifying any potential risks.
The platform also enables documentation of risk mitigation efforts. By keeping a detailed record of the steps taken to address and mitigate risks, organizations can demonstrate due diligence and proactive management of AI-related issues, which is becoming increasingly required by external regulations.
Finally, AFFIRM enables organizations to generate comprehensive reports for internal stakeholders and external reporting requirements. These reports are essential for maintaining transparency and accountability, meeting regulatory obligations, and keeping stakeholders informed about the performance and compliance of AI systems.
Continuous Improvement
AI governance and compliance is not a one-time effort. It is a continuous process that requires a feedback loop to improve efforts, address challenges, and make changes to mitigate risks. As new AI systems are deployed, or AI systems drift, or laws are enacted or changed, organizations must adjust as needed. With a robust system like AFFIRM, you can streamline this process.
Conclusion
As we embrace the transformative power of AI, we are presented with both remarkable opportunities and significant responsibilities. It is crucial that we approach AI with a conscientious mindset. The role of AI in our lives and in businesses worldwide is expanding, promising innovation and efficiency, but also demanding safe and responsible use.
AFFIRM provides the necessary tools and frameworks to ensure that AI technologies are deployed, not only effectively, but also responsibly. Each stakeholder, from developers and business leaders to regulators and consumers, must play their part in fostering an environment where AI works for the betterment of all.
We urge all stakeholders to commit to using AI in a manner that upholds safety, ethics, and compliance. By leveraging platforms like AFFIRM, organizations can maintain the delicate balance between harnessing AI’s potential and mitigating its risks. Let us work together to ensure that AI serves as a force for good, enhancing our lives without compromising our values. Embracing this call to action will not only safeguard our present, but will also pave the way for a future where the full potential of AI can be realized responsibly and inclusively.
Written by David Baiko, Director of Sales at Synergist Technology.
