AI: Friend, Foe, or Free for All? Why Boards Can’t Afford to Sit This One Out

Insights by Gerry Lynch, Director at Govn365

At our recent Govn365 webinar, I was joined by governance advisor Helen Van Orton for a conversation on one of the most misunderstood and potentially transformative forces in business today: Artificial Intelligence.

The title of the session — Friend, Foe, or Free-for-All? was deliberately provocative. But the real question that emerged was even more pressing:
Are boards engaging with AI as a governance issue, or are they waiting on IT to “handle it”?

Let me be clear: this isn’t about tech upgrades or chasing the latest gadgets. It’s about leadership. Strategy. Risk. Culture. AI is already reshaping how organisations operate — and the boards that understand this will lead the pack.

The Boards That Use AI Will Outpace the Ones That Don’t

Helen shared the story of IKEA, where giving employees the tools and training to use AI freed up time, reduced inefficiencies, and delivered an astonishing $1.5 billion in value. This wasn’t about job cuts. It was about enabling people to do higher-value work.

The implications are clear. Boards don’t need to become AI experts — but they do need to become AI literate. Why? Because value creation, productivity, and risk exposure are now being directly influenced by how (or whether) AI is being used across the organisation.

And yet, the gap between ambition and action is stark.

AI Is a Strategic Priority — But Not a Board Priority

Globally, 83% of organisations say AI is one of their top strategic priorities. But 31% of boards don’t even have it on their agenda. In our live poll during the session, 70% of attendees said their boards hadn’t explored the risks or opportunities of AI in any meaningful way.

That’s a problem.

Why? Because while some boards are still waiting for a working group or policy paper, “shadow AI” is already happening — quietly, invisibly. Tools like ChatGPT and Copilot are being used daily across most businesses, often without oversight. A third of those uses may be exposing the organisation to significant risk.

AI Without Governance Isn’t Strategy — It’s Chaos

Good governance isn’t about shutting AI down or slowing it up. It’s about putting the right guardrails in place so that innovation can happen safely, responsibly, and strategically.

Helen urged boards to move beyond a narrow lens of risk and compliance. Instead, think about where AI could unlock creativity, support better decision-making, and improve leadership capacity. She gave practical examples from rewriting job descriptions and KPIs to using AI as a “devil’s advocate” to challenge assumptions in board meetings.

One standout insight?
“If your AI prompts aren’t at least a page long, you’re probably not giving it enough to generate something truly useful.”

So Where Do We Start?

Three actions boards can take right now:

1. Bring in the right expertise — advisors who can demystify AI and coach the board on how to engage with it at the right level.
2. Ask management for a frank assessment — where AI is being used (formally or informally), what risks it presents, and where the opportunities lie.
3. Make AI a standing conversation — not a one-off workshop or annual item. Whether through a subcommittee, a dedicated director, or regular reporting, AI governance needs a consistent seat at the table.

Final Thought: Leadership in the Age of Intelligence

This isn’t about ticking boxes or chasing headlines. It’s about leadership — the kind that sees around corners and creates the conditions for sustainable, ethical, and effective innovation.