AI risk management

BusinessSafety and governancePublished By Simon Budziak

AI risk management is the continuous process of identifying, assessing, treating, monitoring, and communicating risks created by an AI system and its use. It covers technical failures, human misuse, legal duties, security, operational impact, and affected people across design, procurement, deployment, and retirement.

NIST AI Risk Management Framework provides the primary reference used for this definition and its production boundaries.

How does AI risk management work in production?

Teams establish context, identify harms and failure modes, assess likelihood and impact, then choose controls and owners. AI governance makes those decisions repeatable, while responsible AI provides the broader operating principle. Risk management continues after deployment.

When does AI risk management matter?

Prioritize risks tied to business use, not abstract model capability. AI risk classification can determine regulatory duties, and AI assurance tests whether controls support the claims. Residual risk needs a named owner who accepts it.

Frequently asked questions

What is AI risk management used for?

Prioritize risks tied to business use, not abstract model capability. AI risk classification can determine regulatory duties, and AI assurance tests whether controls support the claims.

Is AI risk management only for high-risk AI?

No. The depth should match the impact, but every production system needs proportionate ownership and monitoring.

Summarize this page with

See this working in a system we built