AI is becoming a bigger part of everyday life. Businesses rely on it to automate tasks, analyze data, and make decisions faster than ever. But as AI gets more powerful, the risks get bigger too.
Who’s responsible when AI makes a mistake? How do you stop it from being biased? What happens to all the data it collects? If you’re using AI, these aren’t just hypothetical questions. They’re real problems that could impact your business, your customers, and your reputation.
AI Bias Can Cost You More Than You Think
AI learns from data, and that data isn’t always neutral. If a hiring algorithm is trained on years of biased hiring decisions, it will continue to favour some people over others. That’s already happened—some AI-powered hiring tools have been found to favour men over women.
It’s not just hiring. AI used in banking has denied loans to certain demographics at higher rates. Facial recognition technology has misidentified people of colour more often than white individuals, leading to wrongful arrests.
These aren’t just technical issues. They have real-world consequences. If your AI system discriminates, you could face lawsuits, damage your reputation, and lose customer trust.
Transparency Matters—People Deserve to Know Why
One of the biggest problems with AI is that it often works like a black box. It makes decisions, but no one really knows how. That’s a problem when those decisions affect real people.
If AI rejects a job application, denies someone a loan, or makes a medical recommendation, they should know why. Without transparency, people lose trust in AI, and companies open themselves up to scrutiny.
Think about it, if your business is using AI, can you explain how it makes decisions? Do customers even know when AI is being used? If something goes wrong, do you have a way to justify AI-driven outcomes? If the answer is no, then it’s time to rethink how you’re using AI.
Data Privacy Can’t Be an Afterthought
AI needs data to work, but businesses often collect far more than they actually need. The problem is, once you collect data, you’re responsible for protecting it. And if you don’t handle it properly, you could be in violation of privacy laws like GDPR or CCPA.
More than just compliance, it’s about trust. People want to know that their personal information isn’t being stored indefinitely, shared without consent, or used in ways they didn’t agree to. If you’re using AI, make sure you’re only collecting the data you absolutely need and that it’s being stored securely.
AI Shouldn’t Be Left Unchecked
AI isn’t perfect, and it shouldn’t be making decisions on its own, especially in high-stakes areas like healthcare, finance, and hiring. It should be a tool that helps people make better decisions, not a replacement for human judgment.
There have been cases where AI-generated medical diagnoses missed critical conditions, or automated hiring systems rejected qualified candidates for the wrong reasons. When AI is left unchecked, mistakes happen, and those mistakes can be costly. Businesses need to have a system in place where humans review AI-driven decisions before they’re final.
How ISO Standards Will Help
Regulation around AI ethics is still developing, but international standards are starting to provide guidance. ISO 27001 has long set best practices for information security, ensuring businesses handle sensitive data responsibly. As AI relies heavily on data, following ISO 27001 helps companies secure and manage it properly.
ISO 42001, the new AI management system standard, goes a step further. It provides a framework for organizations to build ethical, transparent, and responsible AI systems. It includes guidelines for governance, risk management, bias detection, and human oversight.
Businesses that adopt these standards will be ahead of the curve. They’ll have structured processes for identifying AI risks, improving transparency, and ensuring accountability. As governments and industries push for stronger AI regulations, compliance with ISO 42001 and ISO 27001 will likely become a competitive advantage.
What Can You Do About It?
If your business uses AI, you need to take ethics seriously. That means regularly checking your AI systems for bias, making sure decisions are transparent, and protecting user data. It also means keeping humans involved in the decision-making process and not relying entirely on AI to make important calls.
AI is a powerful tool, but if it’s not handled responsibly, it can do more harm than good.
Alec Pedersen
Ley Hill Solutions ISO 27001/42001 Lead Auditor
