Business & Technology
AI trust & governance seen as key to safe adoption
SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO
News Editor
Security and technology leaders warn that trust and governance will determine how far businesses can safely push artificial intelligence, as AI Appreciation Day draws attention to the technology’s rapid spread.
Senior executives at Entrust, CYGNVS and Gravwell say organisations are underestimating the risks created by autonomous agents, deepfakes and new AI attack surfaces, even as they embed the technology more deeply into core operations.
AI adoption is accelerating across sectors, from finance and healthcare to software development and customer service. Many businesses now deploy agentic AI systems that can trigger actions and workflows with limited human involvement. Analysts and regulators are also tracking a sharp rise in AI-related incidents that expose organisations to legal, security and reputational damage.
Anudeep Parhar, Chief Information Officer at Entrust, said the focus is shifting from AI’s technical potential to whether companies can rely on it in high-stakes environments.
“AI is becoming more intelligent every day. The bigger question now is whether organizations can trust it with greater autonomy. Organisations are using AI to accelerate innovation, drive growth, streamline operations, and unlock new levels of productivity. At the same time, AI has enabled threat actors to create deepfakes, synthetic identities, and increasingly convincing scams that can compromise sensitive information at scale. As organizations rapidly adopt agentic AI, existing models for identity, authorization, governance, and accountability must evolve to support machine-scale activity. Even in a more autonomous, agentic future, some level of human-in-the-loop oversight will remain critical-particularly for high-consequence decisions and actions. As AI continues to evolve, trust will be the challenge of the next era. It’s on organizations to understand the risks and integrate AI safely, with trust as the foundation,” said Anudeep Parhar, Chief Information Officer, Entrust.
His comments reflect growing concern that AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic identities will erode existing trust frameworks. Security teams now treat convincing audio and video fabrications as routine elements of phishing, fraud and social engineering campaigns. Organisations are also reviewing identity and access management systems built for human users rather than large fleets of software agents.
Incident data suggests that AI failures and misuse are already widespread. Arvind Parthasarathi, Chief Executive Officer and Founder at CYGNVS, pointed to both sanctioned and unsanctioned deployments inside enterprises.
“AI is now being embedded in customer service, software development, financial operations, healthcare and countless other business-critical processes, helping organizations work faster and make better decisions. But what happens when the AI goes wrong? Have organizations considered their response? Gartner research found that sixty-one percent of senior professionals report observing AI agent automation deployed through approved enterprise software, while 59% report evidence of, or strong suspicion of, unsanctioned, employee-driven AI agents operating outside governed pathways. The OECD AI Incidents and Hazards Monitor recorded 596 AI incidents in January 2026 alone, up 200% year-over-year. AI incidents include model bias violating laws and regulations, hallucinations creating legal and customer exposure, data leakage triggering GDPR and HIPAA violations, and autonomous agents pursuing objectives in unintended or destructive ways. When an AI agent misbehaves, organizations need to activate a cross-functional machinery spanning IT, security, legal, executives, as well as external providers like law firms. Without a playbook of what to do or a response platform to do it in, organizations reach for email and internal messaging, exactly the systems that may be influenced by or accessible to the AI under investigation,” said Arvind Parthasarathi, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, CYGNVS.
Those remarks highlight a gap between AI deployment and incident preparedness. Many organisations treat AI as an extension of software rather than a source of complex, multi-jurisdictional risk. When models hallucinate, leak data or breach policy, companies often lack clear ownership, communication channels and containment procedures.
New Attack Surface
Alongside governance concerns, security specialists are reassessing how AI changes the nature of cyber risk. Corey Thuen, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Gravwell, said AI changes the interface between humans and machines rather than the underlying computing model.
“I’m going into AI Appreciation Day with a healthy dose of skepticism, which I think we all need as we learn to coexist with and utilize it responsibly. One of the biggest misconceptions about AI is that it’s changing how computers work…but it actually isn’t. Computers still work the way they always have. What’s changed is the interface. For the first time, users are interacting with systems that don’t always produce the same output from the same input. We’re no longer just exploiting software. We’re social engineering computers; instead of convincing a person to ignore the rules, you’re convincing an AI model to ignore its guardrails. That’s a new attack surface for machines and one that’s evolving extremely fast. AI deserves credit for helping security researchers uncover vulnerabilities at scale, but it also creates a dangerous misconception. Too many people assume that because AI’s writing sounds pretty good, it understands all situational context and knows what it’s doing. It doesn’t, plain and simple. It’s predicting language, not reasoning about security, policy or intent. That’s exactly why prompt injection works here: attackers manipulate AI models using language, because those models can’t distinguish between a legitimate instruction and a cleverly crafted one with malicious intent. Security teams that understand those limitations and balance AI’s weaknesses with human intelligence will build stronger defenses than those who assume it’s smarter than it really is,” said Corey Thuen, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Gravwell.
Thuen’s warning underlines a shift in attacker tactics from exploiting code vulnerabilities to exploiting model behaviour. Security teams now test prompts and outputs alongside traditional penetration testing and log analysis. Many also build human review into workflows that rely on AI for security decision support or automated responses.
Together, the comments from Entrust, CYGNVS and Gravwell point to a convergence of trust, governance and security questions as AI systems act with more autonomy. Executives argue that organisations that combine human oversight, clear incident playbooks and realistic expectations of AI’s limits will be better placed to manage the technology’s next phase.
Park Place Technologies has launched The Savvy CIO, a podcast for IT leaders hosted by former Chief Information Officer Bradd Busick.
The first season focuses on the pressures facing senior technology executives as they manage ageing infrastructure, fixed budgets and rising demand tied to artificial intelligence.
Sponsored by Park Place, the series features conversations with IT executives and industry analysts from organisations including IBM, Coca-Cola Bottlers, Datum, Omdia, Solved and IDC. The opening season runs to 10 episodes.
Its editorial focus reflects a familiar tension in large organisations. Chief Information Officers are under pressure to keep existing systems running while deciding where to invest in modernisation, automation and data-intensive projects.
Topics include AI readiness, the practical challenges of liquid cooling in data centres, and the difficulty of getting more value from static IT budgets. Together, they point to an industry debate that has shifted from broad digital transformation language to questions of infrastructure limits, energy use and procurement discipline.
Busick, who currently serves as Principal, AI, Data & Technology Enablement at Frazier Healthcare Partners, brings a background in healthcare and operational technology. He previously served as Chief Information Officer at MultiCare Health System and was recognised as Washington State Healthcare CIO of the Year and National Healthcare CIO of the Year at the ORBIE Awards.
The launch adds to a broader stream of vendor-backed media aimed at senior technology buyers. Many suppliers and services groups now use podcasts and interview formats to reach Chief Information Officers and Chief Technology Officers making decisions on infrastructure life cycles, cloud spending, AI deployment and internal productivity.
Industry pressure
The programme is built around a hardening set of priorities in enterprise IT. Boards want returns from previous technology spending, finance teams want tighter discipline, and operating divisions increasingly expect AI tools and more responsive systems without matching budget increases.
That leaves technology leaders balancing competing demands. In many organisations, they must maintain ageing hardware and support contracts even as they are asked to shift funds towards data, automation and machine learning projects.
Infrastructure decisions have also become more visible at executive level because of the strain created by AI workloads. Questions about processing capacity, cooling, energy consumption and data architecture now sit alongside traditional concerns such as resilience, uptime and software support.
Busick framed the role in stark terms.
“In the old days, the CIO used to keep the lights on. Now the CIO decides which lights are worth keeping,” said Bradd Busick, Principal, AI, Data & Technology Enablement at Frazier Healthcare Partners.
He added: “This podcast features some of the top thought leaders in the world, where we don’t just talk about technology, we talk about leverage, speed and where the organisation is ‘lying to itself’ about its IT capabilities.”
Content strategy
For Park Place, the podcast offers a way to attach its brand to recurring discussions about infrastructure management and IT economics. The company operates in IT infrastructure services and reports annual revenue of USD $1.2 billion and 3,300 employees.
It says it serves more than 25,000 organisations across 180 countries, including half of the Fortune 500. Its business spans hardware maintenance, software technical support, hardware procurement and related infrastructure management services.
Park Place’s marketing leadership said the series was designed to address the less polished side of technology change programmes, where cost constraints and operational bottlenecks often slow executive plans.
“We realised many of the conversations being had focused entirely on the aspirational side of modernisation and did not actively address the ever-increasing hurdles CIOs face,” said Larry DeAngelis, Vice President of Marketing at Park Place Technologies.
He added: “We are hosting intelligent conversations to equip CIOs and CTOs with actionable insights to move their businesses forward.”
Shifting audience
The target audience extends beyond Chief Information Officers. The first season’s themes suggest the programme is aimed at a broader group of senior technology and operations leaders, including Chief Technology Officers, infrastructure heads and digital transformation executives.
That reflects a change in how enterprise technology purchasing decisions are made. Budget authority and strategic influence are often spread across finance, operations, security and product teams, making it harder for a single executive to shape technology direction alone.
The inclusion of analysts from firms such as IDC and Omdia also suggests an effort to combine practitioner experience with market interpretation. In vendor-backed editorial products, that mix can broaden relevance by linking frontline operational problems with wider industry patterns.
For listeners, the appeal may rest less on the existence of another business podcast and more on whether it can offer blunt assessments of the trade-offs senior IT leaders already face each day: whether to extend the life of existing assets, where to spend scarce budget, and how to avoid overstating readiness for AI projects before the underlying infrastructure is in place.
No.33 Didcot opened on Great Western Park on March 10 but has been given notice to leave its current space.
Bosses say the business has not been a failure as money invested has almost been entirely made back.
However, it will be closing at the end of August.
A statement from No.33 Didcot said: “It’s with a very heavy heart that we have, today, given notice to leave our space on Great Western Park.
“Before the rumours start, we will put them straight to bed. There’s been no failure. We very nearly made the money back that we invested which, for a hospitality start up in 2026, is pretty bloody good.
“We opened because it was a pretty risk free venture. Low rent. Short term tenancy.
“Unfortunately, although that makes it appealing to go into, it also makes it a business that can’t be sold on.
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“If it’s not paying me a wage and I can’t sell it on, it’s an awful lot of time and effort for nothing. That’s the story. End of. Nothing more to see.
“We will carry on doing exactly what we do until the end of August. Nothing will change before then, so please keep visiting us as you always have.
“There will be lots of ‘thank you’ posts over the next few weeks but, for now, please know how grateful we are that so many of you visited and liked what we did.
“I’m extremely proud of what we built and I hope it made some of you smile.”
Daon has been selected by the British Council to provide identity verification services across its global testing and digital education portfolio. The agreement covers one of the world’s largest English-language testing programmes.
Daon’s TrustX platform will verify test takers at several stages of the testing process, including registration, attendance at test centres and checks during exams. The system will also support face-match re-verification after breaks and during re-tests.
British Council tests are accepted by governments in Australia, Canada and New Zealand and recognised by more than 12,500 organisations, including immigration authorities, employers and higher education institutions. Secure identity checks are important because test results can influence decisions on immigration, education and employment.
The British Council works with individuals in more than 200 countries and territories and has a presence in over 100 countries. In 2024-25, it said it reached 599 million people through its cultural relations and educational programmes.
Daon said the initial rollout would support millions of identity verification and facial authentication transactions over a multi-year term. The arrangement also leaves scope to extend the platform to other British Council services, including English Online.
Procurement process
The contract followed a multi-phase procurement process that required suppliers to meet standards for identity verification technology and services, including certification under the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework. The tender also assessed global support, consultancy and operational practice, alongside biometric authentication and document validation.
Under the agreement, Daon will deploy its xProof identity verification tools on the TrustX platform. The setup includes document verification, facial comparison, liveness detection and chip reading, with manual review available when needed.
The British Council wanted identity checks that went beyond enrolment and covered the full user journey. That reflects broader pressure on testing providers to maintain confidence in remote and in-person assessment as fraud risks evolve.
Anthony Nicols outlined the British Council’s view of the role identity checks play in high-stakes exams.
“Identity is the cornerstone for high stakes exams, and in Daon we’ve found a partner that helps us embed trust throughout the entire testing journey,” said Anthony Nicols, Director of Product at the British Council. “This strengthens the integrity of our results while delivering a more secure and consistent experience for test takers globally.”
Wider use
For Daon, the British Council contract adds a public sector and education deployment with global reach. Organisations increasingly want identity verification to be part of an ongoing process rather than a single check at the start of a service.
Tom Grissen, Chief Executive Officer of Daon, said the project reflected a broader shift in how institutions handle digital identity.
“Organisations like the British Council operate at a scale where identity is more than just a security function,” said Tom Grissen, Chief Executive Officer of Daon. “It’s what underlines trust in the institution and the services it provides. This deployment reflects something we’re seeing across multiple sectors, where identity verification is becoming an ongoing, integrated part of the user journey rather than a single, static checkpoint. Platforms like TrustX are designed to enable organizations to orchestrate identity across channels, use cases, and geographies without adding friction for users.”
The British Council was founded in 1934 and is governed by Royal Charter. The scale of its operations and the international use of its tests mean identity verification decisions under this contract will affect a large volume of candidate transactions across multiple jurisdictions.
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