AI is entering consequential work, whether organisations have approved it or not. When its use is discovered after something goes wrong, the efficiency gains are quickly overtaken by legal risk, public scrutiny and retrospective review.
This article argues that prohibition is not an operating model. Shadow AI is demand made invisible, driven by staff and suppliers trying to get work done when approved tools and processes fall short.
It offers a practical first 90 days for understanding demand, making AI use visible, testing controls and providing secure tools worth using, without weakening accountability.
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Bearing & Course Advisory
Bearing & Course is a Principal-led advisory firm working with government, organisations that deliver into government, regulated industries and growing businesses.We help organisations deal with difficult problems, improve how they operate and move important work forward. Our work covers governance, risk and assurance; organisational and digital transformation; technology, data, privacy and digital trust; and operating models, processes and services.What makes us different is how we bring that work together.Large firms can offer breadth, but clients often end up dealing with layers of management and teams built around availability. Independent specialists can offer deep expertise, but the client is often left to connect the work and manage the gaps between them.Bearing & Course sits between the two.Senior judgement. Curated capability. Integrated delivery.Our Principals stay close to the client, shape the work and remain accountable for the result. When the problem needs broader or more specialist capability, we bring in trusted practitioners and firms from our community.They are not drawn from a general contractor list or added simply to fill roles. They are people we know, trust and believe will improve the work.We build the team around the problem rather than forcing the problem into a fixed service or delivery model. The team can grow, change or reduce as the work develops, while the client continues to deal with experienced people who understand the whole picture.We also work with the capability already inside the organisation. The aim is not to create dependence or leave behind another report. It is to help leaders make better decisions, get practical change moving and leave the organisation stronger than it was when we arrived.
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