The role of assurance in AI projects

As businesses and governments further embrace the use of AI to enhance processes, customer experience and service delivery, it is important to remember that behind every algorithm is the human who created it.

When unchecked, AI can magnify biases, create serious privacy and security risks, and cause unintended harm at scale.

What is the role of assurance in AI projects?

The role of AI assurance is to provide clear requirements and guidance across the entire AI project lifecycle to ensure the technology and its outputs are ethical and appropriate.

At Evinact, we understand the opportunities and limitations of AI. Informed by industry best practice principles, frameworks and concepts, our AI assurance services consider the benefits, risks, accountability, procurement, privacy, security and transparency implications of AI technical projects.

A Queensland government department engaged Evinact to develop a repeatable assurance process to guide the design, development and build of AI-enabled products that aligned with the Queensland Government Gateway review process and Australia’s AI Ethics Principles.

Key aspects of the assurance process include:

• Privacy, protection and security
• Reliability and safety
• Governance
• Transparency and explainability
• Contestability
• Accountability

Evinact outlined the necessary actions to prepare for a readiness-for-service review, which will ensure a smooth transition of the product or service from the development or testing phase to full-scale operation.

As a result of working with Evinact, the department can leverage a repeatable process to ensure AI projects meet their objectives, deliver value, adhere to ethical standards, and manage risks effectively throughout their lifecycle.

This engagement was originally completed as GWI.

Due to the fast-changing technology landscape of AI, assurance should be an ongoing activity to ensure policies and processes are set up to respond to new challenges and limitations as they arise. Through our AI assurance services, Evinact supports our customers in developing, designing and deploying AI technology and services ethically and appropriately. Get in touch with our team if you’d like to know more.