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The Board's Role in an AI Incident

By Jeffery Brown

03/05/2026

Artificial Intelligence Risk Oversight Member-Only
Key Points

  • Boards must establish clear, documented escalation thresholds for artificial intelligence incidents so that ambiguous AI failures are not overlooked.

  • Effective AI governance requires defined committee ownership, with boards selecting a model that ensures authority and technical expertise for incident oversight.

  • AI-specific tabletop exercises should test escalation triggers, committee decision-making, and documentation readiness.

This AI-generated summary, based on content on this page, was reviewed by NACD editors for accuracy.

A structured AI tabletop exercise can identify escalation gaps, clarify decision-making authority, and prepare boards to govern autonomous system failures before a real crisis hits.

When an artificial intelligence system causes harm, the board will not be asked whether it responded quickly. Instead, it will be asked: Why was this system allowed to act this way?

Many boards assume AI incidents look like cybersecurity incidents, but they don’t, and rehearsing for the wrong scenario could leave directors unprepared when it matters most. ...

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Robert Peak

 

Jeffrey Brown, NACD.DC®, is chief security advisor for financial services at Microsoft Corp. and serves on multiple corporate boards. He specializes in the intersection of AI governance, cybersecurity risk, and board oversight.

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