The AI Governance Dilemma
Around the world, organisations are racing to adopt AI – but many leaders are still asking the same question: how do we unlock AI’s value without losing control of risk, trust, and compliance?
ISO/IEC 42001:2023, the world’s first international and certifiable AI management system standard, is emerging as a decisive part of the answer.
Unlike a narrow technical checklist, ISO/IEC 42001 is a full management system for AI, similar in spirit to ISO 9001 for quality and ISO 27001 for information security, but tailored to the unique risks and opportunities of AI.
It gives organisations a structured way to align AI initiatives with business goals, define their risk appetite, and manage impacts across the entire AI lifecycle – from strategy and design through deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
A Management System, Not a Checklist
At its core, the standard uses the familiar Plan–Do–Check–Act cycle:
- Plan: define objectives, risk appetite, and governance boundaries for AI in line with broader business strategy.
- Do: implement controls, processes, and guardrails across AI systems and workflows.
- Check: monitor performance, run audits, and review whether AI systems behave as intended.
- Act: correct, improve, and evolve the AI management system as technology, regulation, and business needs change.
The business outcomes are highly tangible. A well‑implemented AI management system improves safety and reliability, strengthens compliance and regulatory readiness (including for upcoming frameworks such as the EU AI Act), and builds defensible trust with customers, investors, and regulators.
It also clarifies internal accountability so AI is no longer a “black box”, but a transparent, well‑governed capability with clear ownership and documentation.
About John O’Sullivan and GlobalAI Association
This explainer was created by John O’Sullivan, AI governance and compliance specialist and founder of AIML Partners, who recently started collaborating with GlobalAI Association.
John brings extensive experience in AI strategy, AI risk management, and regulatory readiness (including EU AI Act alignment), helping organisations translate high‑level principles into practical, auditable AI operations.
We are delighted to welcome him as a new collaborator in our network, contributing his expertise on responsible, compliant AI adoption for our community.
