Information management & technology

Artificial intelligence governance

By Erik Beulen | January 27, 2023 | 1 min read

Over the next two years, many organizations will be moving on from pilot projects to the operationalization of artificial intelligence. As a digital transformation leader, you are closely involved in this process. You must design frameworks, select partners for your organization and advise the board on the right decisions to take.

Artificial intelligence governance is also a priority area. Good governance ensures responsible, purposeful and legitimate artificial intelligence, preventing bad decisions and, not unimportantly, providing an ethical framework for the use of such information technology. 

Research

TIAS professor Erik Beulen, responsible for the TIAS Executive Master Information Management and Digital Transformations (MIMDT), and Albert Plugge en Jos van Hillegersberg conducted scientific research on formal and relational governance of artifcial intelligence outsourcing.  

Abstract

Outsourcing emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) are expected to impact organizations significantly, due to a tight labor market for AI expertise. However, how formal and relational governance effects Information Systems suppliers who provide AI services has not been studied. Based on an exploratory research amongst eight suppliers and two market research advisers, they conducted 18 expert interviews and found evidence how formal contractual and relational governance affects AI outsourcing. 

The results indicate various forms of contractual models in which some cater for clients’ needs specifically, e.g. outcome-based, experiencedriven Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The examination provides insights that formal and relational Information Systems (IS) outsourcing governance are complementary in cases where clients and suppliers co-develop AI. 

For this research, they adapted the outsourcing governance model of Lioliou et al. , including their emphasis on the psychological contract. The study acknowledges that AI outsourcing shift the emphasis from a transactional type of arrangement to a relational type of outsourcing arrangement. In addition, the combination of both formal and relational governance mechanisms positively contributes to IS governance. This study also confrms that the innovative character of AI positively contributes to the psychological contract in outsourcing AI.

Download the scientific paper

The scientific paper offers you insights and tools to help establish the right artificial intelligence governance model for your organization.

Download the scientific paper

Authors: Erik Beulen (full professor at TIAS Business School), Albert Plugge and Jos van Hillegersberg.