What is AI Model Governance? Why It Matters & Best Practices

Organizations are increasingly integrating AI into their operations, but this rapid adoption has led to a gap in oversight, resulting in risks such as unmonitored outputs and regulatory scrutiny. AI model governance emerges as a critical solution to manage these risks by controlling how machine learning models are built, deployed, and monitored, ensuring safety and compliance throughout their lifecycle. As AI becomes integral to operations, its governance requires accountability at every stage, from data ingestion to monitoring and feedback. The governance process involves using tools like model cards, MLflow, and policy engines, while also addressing unique challenges posed by generative AI models, such as hallucinations and data leakage. In contrast to traditional AI governance, which focuses on accuracy and bias detection, generative AI governance emphasizes output quality and alignment with human values. Governance differs from compliance, which ensures adherence to external regulations, whereas governance focuses on internal control. Effective AI governance involves inventorying models, defining high-risk use cases, mapping responsibilities, selecting frameworks, integrating checkpoints, and using monitoring tools. Companies like Superblocks provide tools for implementing governance by offering privacy controls, access management, and monitoring capabilities, emphasizing the need for both governance and compliance to mitigate risks and ensure responsible AI deployment.