Innovation without the Headache

The SME Guide to AI Governance

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a “future” technology; it is a present-day competitive necessity. However, for SMEs, the “wait and see” approach is becoming dangerous. This guide provides a practical, low-friction framework for governing AI adoption without hiring a full-time compliance team.

Part 1: The "Shadow AI" Problem

Your employees are likely already using AI. If you haven't sanctioned it, they are using it on personal devices, pasting sensitive company data into public models.

  • The Risk:
    Data leakage (e.g., Samsung Incident), IP loss, and lack of audit trails.
  • The Fix:
    Don't ban it; sanction it with guardrails.

Part 2: The 3-Tier Risk Model

Aligned with the EU AI Act, we recommend categorizing your use cases:

  • Unacceptable Risk:
    Social scoring, biometric identification in public spaces. (BANNED)
  • High Risk:
    AI used in hiring (CV scanning), credit scoring, or critical infrastructure. (REQUIRES HEAVY GOVERNANCE)
  • Limited/Minimal Risk:
    Chatbots for customer service, coding assistants, marketing copy generation. (REQUIRES TRANSPARENCY & AUP)

Part 3: Drafting Your Policy (AUP)

  • Do:
    Use AI to summarize public meetings, draft emails, and refactor code.
  • Do Not:
    Paste customer PII, financial secrets, or unpatented code into public instances of ChatGPT/Claude.