Corporate AI Governance Matters Now More Than Ever 

In my 2025 New Year blog, I focused on responsibility as a prerequisite for innovation. Amid the whirlwind of new generative AI model releases and the drumbeat of the coming of agentic AI in 2024, it was important to reassert the need to move fast and build things, not break them.

This year, I have heard from a growing chorus of corporate leaders who understand innovation and responsibility must go hand-in-hand. Rather than why, they are asking how. What does it look like to be a good corporate citizen at this moment of profound change and growing divides?

The recent Grok nudification scandal shows why this matters. While advancing capabilities in both the speed and quality of generative AI applications contributed, it was a business decision to integrate these apps into a social media platform with little moderation and anonymous users. With a few clicks, images could be weaponized in a space where sharing drives advertising revenue.

In incidents such as this, it is challenging for policy-makers to keep up. While several governments are signalling their intent to take action, regulation is a slow process by design. Efforts to update privacy and online harms legislation are ongoing.

While global policy efforts continue, including at the upcoming India AI Impact Summit government action cannot be the only solution. The pace of innovation is not only faster than that of policymaking, but governments themselves may deploy AI systems in ways that are discriminatory and harmful.

Here’s where corporate governance comes in. As AI capabilities develop, companies have unique visibility into their potential for innovation, value and risk within their own business models. With effective governance measures in place, including robust AI policies that include everything from supply chain responsibility guidelines to end-user terms and conditions, they can prevent many, if not all, incidents from happening.

They can build solutions that advance true benefits for people and society while gaining a competitive edge, growing brand trust, attracting top talent, and sustaining customer loyalty.

At the Partnership on AI, we believe corporate governance is an essential component of a vibrant and innovative AI ecosystem. While effective governance provides the foundation, our work this year will fuel momentum for collective action in the following urgent areas.

Human Connection and Well-being

AI applications have moved from predictive tools and recommendation engines to user interfaces producing generative text, image and video. They are mimicking the roles of trusted advisors, social companions, and primary information sources. Taking our learnings from PAI’s Synthetic Media Framework, we will bring together mental health experts, child safety advocates, AI technologists, and more to develop insights for policy and recommendations for practice on the responsible design of interactive AI systems.

AI for Shared Prosperity

We have already begun to see the impact of AI on labor: both as a tool to make workers more efficient and as a justification for layoffs. As AI technology and labor markets evolve, designing AI to benefit workers, and not just shareholders, requires expansive thinking about probable futures. With AI developers, labor representatives, economists, and other experts, we will undertake scenario planning and develop responsible recommendations for our varied potential futures.

Trust Across the Agentic AI Value Chain

In order for society to reap the promised benefits of AI, building trust is essential. Across model deployers, app developers, policymakers, and the organizations and individuals using the technology, there needs to be confidence that the systems are safe and reliable. We will continue our work on AI assurance ecosystems; real-time monitoring of AI agents; and responsible enterprise governance. This year, we will also issue our second annual report card assessing progress in post-deployment monitoring.

Looking Ahead

In February, we will attend the India AI Impact Summit and call on participating governments and organizations to close the global digital divide. We will release a Roadmap for Assurance across the AI Ecosystem because building public infrastructure that centers trust in AI development and deployment must not wait.

This year, we celebrate our 10-year anniversary. For me, this year is about honoring the collective impact we’ve achieved in this first decade and renewing our commitment to shape the future we want to see—one defined by safety, equity, and shared prosperity.

If you are already a PAI partner or supporter, thank you for your expertise and enthusiasm. We cannot do it without you. If you are not yet, join us!