We need responsible people to drive responsible AI

When Dario Amodei called for the brakes to be pumped on AI model development, it provoked reaction from not only his fellow frontier AI CEOs but no less than the Pope, the President and the King of the UK.  But whether to apply the brakes is just one component of the "race" that's underway to develop and deploy AI safely and at scale.

"Clear rules of the road are important. But without people to put those rules into practice, rules are reduced to just words." I wrote that three years ago, when I argued that "the time to professionalize AI governance is now." 

Now, in 2026, it's even more plain to see just how important a scaled and professional workforce dedicated to AI governance is going to be if AI is to serve -- and not damage -- society in positive and productive ways.  

History has shown that early investment in a professionalized workforce pays dividends later. Today, that investment is more urgent than it is early. When global capital markets expanded in the 20th century, stability and, ultimately, success, were not achieved simply by lawmakers passing statutes against corporate fraud. It required the invention of the modern accounting profession -- a trained, standardized workforce embedded within every enterprise to audit ledgers, verify claims, and operationalize financial controls. We are currently facing a parallel structural necessity with AI governance.  

Despite the heightened prioritization of AI governance, organizations are lagging in their response.

This is an imperative for Main Street, not just a Silicon Valley problem. While existential risks loom large in the minds of frontier AI tech CEOs, hundreds of thousands of organizations across the economic spectrum are experiencing real-world rewards and risks today. On the latter, risks such as privacy, hallucinations, cybersecurity, bias and shadow AI are not found only on the frontier, nor do they require hypothetical predictions as to their likelihood of occurring. These risks are happening today inside many organizations.  In fact, more than two-thirds of organizations are already investing in people and processes to tackle these risks. But more work is needed still. 

Whether and how to regulate AI has seized lawmakers across the world. It animates all manner of policy debates, from national security and global competitiveness to human rights and even what it means to be sovereign. Attempts to legislate are as complex as they are varied. The EU has shown some signs of buyer's remorse with its much-heralded AI Act, China has advanced exacting rules on generative AI, and lawmakers in the U.S. have proposed hundreds of bills at the state level, resulting in dozens of laws on the books targeting certain AI risks. 

Regardless of the rules policymakers ultimately decide are necessary, in addition to the many existing laws that already apply to AI, or whether industry can somehow coordinate to voluntarily pump the brakes on frontier model development, the rapid and responsible deployment of AI systems will rely on the professionals behind the wheel and the structures and ecosystem to empower their flourishing. 

Despite the heightened prioritization of AI governance, organizations are lagging in their response. An average organization anticipates needing 10 people to appropriately cover AI governance responsibilities. Yet most of those same organizations doubt they have the budget or structures to attract and empower such a workforce. Hundreds of thousands of AI governance professionals will be demanded in short order. This is not a latent workforce, waiting to mobilize.  We cannot tap into a vast talent pool of AI governance professionals. This is a workforce that needs to be built and scaled at a pace commensurate with the development and deployment of the technology itself. 

If an AI governance workforce can professionalize, at scale, it can play a powerful role in developing, implementing and distributing innovative and trusted AI systems. Until then, AI outcomes in law, technology and society will vary as widely as the nature and impact of the risks.  

The time to professionalize was three years ago. It's not too late to catch up.

J. Trevor Hughes is the president and CEO of the IAPP, the professional home for privacy, AI governance and digital responsibility globally. With over 90,000 members in more than 150 countries, the IAPP provides training, certification, publications, research, events and networking opportunities to respond to growing need for professionals to manage the intersections of data, technology and humanity.

Trevor has contributed to media outlets such as The New York Times, TechCrunch and Wired and has testified on issues of privacy, surveillance and privacy-sensitive technologies before U.S. Congress, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, British Parliament and more.