IAPP launches AI Governance Center, a call to action for the privacy profession

Center to educate, train and certify professionals managing AI governance, risk and compliance

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – 10 May 2023 – Today, the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), the world’s largest and most comprehensive global information privacy community and resource, announced the launch of the IAPP AI Governance Center. The center will live within the IAPP to provide networking, education, and certification for the burgeoning number of professionals who are tasked with AI governance, risk and compliance.

As organizations across sectors incorporate AI technology into their products and services, there is an urgent need for professionals dedicated to navigating AI governance and risk management. According to the 2023 IAPP/FTI Privacy and AI Governance Report, over 50% of respondents designing AI governance approaches are building on top of privacy programs and over 40% are using existing privacy assessments to manage AI risk.

“Privacy professionals have transferrable experience and expertise they can leverage and build on to manage and govern AI. They are well suited to navigate the inchoate risks, understand the emerging technologies, and apply global, multi-vectored regulatory standards,” said J. Trevor Hughes, President and CEO of the IAPP. “The futures of privacy, AI and trust in society are tied more closely together every day and highlight the imperative to develop AI governance skills at scale, and quickly.”

The AI Governance Center will serve as a professional community for individuals and organizations to grow their AI governance knowledge, connect with other industry professionals, and keep up to date on the latest global regulatory initiatives and news. Offerings will include a weekly newsletter, an annual conference – the first of which will be held in Boston this November – and a new training and certification in AI governance. The AI Governance Center will be advised by a board of experts who have been leading the conversation on the future of AI. The AI Governance Center Advisory Board includes:

• Alisa Bergman, Chief Privacy Officer, Fanatics.
• Julie Brill, Chief Privacy Officer, Corporate Vice President, Global Privacy and Regulatory Affairs, Microsoft.
• Seth Dobrin, President, Responsible AI Institute.
• Keith Enright, Chief Privacy Officer, Google.
• Dennis Hirsch, Professor of Law and of Computer Science and Faculty Director of the Program on Data and Governance, The Ohio State University.
• Cornelia Kutterer, Tech Policy Expert.
• Naomi Lefkovitz, Senior Privacy Policy Advisor and Program Manager, Privacy Engineering, NIST.
• Brenda Leong, Partner, BNH.AI.
• Simon McDougall, Chief Compliance Officer, Zoom Info.
• Brent Mittelstadt, Director of Research, Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford.
• Christina Montgomery, Chief Privacy & Trust Officer, IBM.
• Eduardo Ustaran, Partner, Hogan Lovells.
• Dominique Shelton Leipzig, Partner, Cybersecurity & Data Privacy; Leader, Global Data Innovation & AdTech, Mayer Brown.
• Frith Tweedie, Principal, Simply Privacy.
• Eduardo Ustaran, Partner, Hogan Lovells.
• Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Director of the Center for Technological Responsibility, Brown University.
• Denise Wong, Assistant Chief Executive, Data Innovation and Protection Group, Singapore Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
• Anna Zeiter, Chief Privacy Officer and Associate General Counsel for Privacy, Data & AI, eBay Inc.

“The speed of adoption and innovation within AI gives a sense of urgency that I’m not sure we’ve seen before,” said Chairman of the IAPP Board of Directors and Global Privacy Officer at Vodafone Mikko Niva. “While AI has the potential to create significant benefits across all sectors, it also raises concerns and risks as the technology progresses quickly. As a society, we should ensure this massively powerful technology with huge societal impacts is implemented safely and in a way we can trust. Privacy professionals can step up to do this, and the IAPP’s AI Governance Center will guide and support them.”

“Responsible AI starts with principles and commitments, but true impact requires compliance and controls that operate at the speed of digital business,” said IBM Chief Privacy & Trust Officer Christina Montgomery, who also will serve on the Center’s advisory board. “Privacy professionals are ideally suited to this challenge, and IAPP’s new AI Governance Center is key to ensuring they are ready to meet it head on.”

Learn more about the AI Governance Center and sign up for the newsletter.

About the IAPP
The International Association of Privacy Professionals is the largest and most comprehensive global information privacy community and resource. Founded in 2000, the IAPP is a not-for-profit organization that helps define, promote and improve the privacy profession globally. More information about the IAPP is available at www.iapp.org.