5 Questions with EqualAI’s President & CEO Miriam Vogel

Miriam Vogel is the President and CEO of EqualAI, helping organizations and policymakers implement AI governance frameworks. She hosts the In AI We Trust? podcast, co-authored Governing the Machine, and has held senior government and private sector leadership roles, including Chair of the National AI Advisory Committee.

PAI: How do you see AI governance evolving over the next few years, especially as AI becomes more embedded in business operations?

MV: Over the next few years, AI governance will shift from a perceived compliance function to a necessary, competitive infrastructure. Building that foundation now is critical to position organizations to lead. Boards and investors increasingly treat governance maturity as a proxy for resilience. As litigation and regulation in this space accelerate, strong and well-communicated governance serves as the best defense. Most consumers and business leaders don’t ask for “governance” per se, but they respond to its signals, such as transparency, accountability, and game plans in place when things go wrong. The companies that institutionalize those signals earn trust, and benefit accordingly.

PAI: What inspired EqualAI to create the AI Governance Playbook for Boards, and what gap does it aim to fill?

MV: EqualAI has long partnered with leading organizations to publish white papers and share alignment on best practices. The AI Governance Playbook series grew directly from that work. Our first playbook offers broad guidance for organizations deploying AI. We often hear from boards that they need specific guidance and generally feel unprepared for their oversight role despite playing a pivotal role in AI governance. Our Playbook for Boards shows directors that AI governance maps naturally onto oversight functions and provides practical tools, questions and context to give them confidence to take on this critical function – and additional playbooks are forthcoming.

PAI: Can you share a real-world example of a board or organization that benefited from adopting these governance strategies?

MV: Organizations that benefit most from governance investment share one trait: they build the infrastructure before they need it. One company we worked with formalized AI oversight, named accountable owners for each system, and established escalation protocols before deploying at scale. When a high-profile incident hit a peer company, they responded to their board, investors, and regulators rapidly and with confidence. Their leadership made a deliberate choice to treat governance as strategic infrastructure, not a compliance checkbox, distinguishing them from their peers, which paid off. When governance infrastructure is robust and functional, trust follows both within the organization and the public.

PAI: As we reflect on International Women’s Day, what advice would you give to women working to shape AI governance today?

MV: The women shaping AI governance today are not on the margins of this work, they are at its center. My advice is to acknowledge and celebrate your key insights. Don’t wait for an invitation to lead. The governance frameworks being built right now will define how AI operates for decades. Your voice in that room isn’t a diversity checkbox; it’s a strategic necessity. Seek out coalitions, build cross sector partnerships, and remember that the best governance comes from the widest range of perspectives. This is our moment.