Boards are sleepwalking into the AI era. KPMG’s global risk chief has a survival guide

You walk into any boardroom in corporate America today and you will see two kinds of execs. The first is stood at the head of the table, loudly proclaiming everything they are doing to embrace AI and predicting that it will change the world and everything in it. The second is silent, perhaps buried in papers, perhaps with their head firmly implanted in the sand. As is so often the case, the most sensible voices are those somewhere in the middle. But make no mistake, the AI revolution has executives walking a tightrope. It has exposed many uncomfortable truths, such as the fact that our oversight models were not fit for purpose, and that corporate governance is falling further behind every day. Those that survive this new world, will need to adapt — or die. We recently published our AI Governance Principles for Boards with INSEAD to serve as a survival guide for boards navigating these challenging times. We deeply examined five key priorities to provide a practical framework for overseeing AI as it moves deeper into strategy, operations, and the core mechanics of value creation across an enterprise. Here’s what we found — and where we think we will go next. AI is no longer a fringe technology, so stop treating it like one The real question when it comes to AI is no longer about where it can create efficiencies, but what kind of enterprise it is helping to build. Leaders should be putting AI at the centre of every conversation, about growth, competitiveness, capital allocation, risk management, and resilience. Tocreate long-term value creation, start with strategic governance. Basic AI fluency is now the bare minimum Directors do not need to become software engineers, but they need enough AI fluency to question assumptions, understand dependencies, and see where risk is accumulating. In an environment defined by third-party tools, opaque models, fast-moving vendors, and widening attack surfaces, informed oversight is no longer optional. It is a core board responsibili