A policy analysis argues 2026 could be decisive for AI because governance, adoption, and geopolitical competition are converging pushing governments to clarify rules while AI deployment accelerates.
The three pressures forcing governance
- Scale of adoption (AI in critical workflows)
- Cross-border competition (chips, models, influence)
- Public risk concerns (misuse, bias, labor impacts)
What businesses should implement now
- AI model inventory and risk-tiering
- Data governance and retention controls
- Human oversight and audit trails
- Vendor due diligence (training data, security, compliance)
Good governance is not just compliance it’s liability management and operational reliability.