It is critical for organisations to perform due diligence before adopting AI, according to tech experts.
South African organisations must prioritise training and adopt a proactive stance on governance if they are to adopt AI securely and at scale, said Dr Cordell Robinson, CEO of Brownstone Consulting Firm.
Dr Robinson is scheduled to deliver the opening keynote address at the ITWeb Governance Risk & Compliance 2026 event on 12 November at The Forum, Bryanston.
The keynote will argue that ungoverned AI adoption is quietly becoming the next major cyber security crisis: a threat vector hiding in plain sight, expanding faster than most institutions’ policies, oversight structures or regulatory frameworks can keep pace with.
Dr Robinson has appeared as a guest on several podcasts and online programmes to discuss the need for proactive governance and education around AI use in the workplace.
In one episode of Tech Break by Friday, he said companies are not evaluating the AI tools they install into their environments, nor are they checking whether guardrails are in place. Another issue is that companies are not ensuring personnel are trained – not necessarily in everything to do with AI security, but at least in the basics, including what data to use, what not to use and the significance of sharing intellectual property (IP).
In another podcast, Dr Robinson said people mistakenly believe AI will replace humans. “That’s not true. AI will just replace humans who do not know how to use AI properly," he said. "So understanding it from a technical and cyber security aspect, I understand the need for AI so that we can advance as a human race, but to also make sure that we are using it in an ethical and secure manner, and ensuring that we basically encapsulate governance around it, no matter how we deploy it.”
Speaking to ITWeb ahead of the event, Dr Robinson said markets such as SA are still reactive in terms of AI governance, and there is a need to become proactive.
Governance does not slow down AI adoption, he explained, likening ungoverned, reactive-style AI adoption to driving a car without brakes. Companies look to adopt AI, he said, but the governance and security aspect is often overlooked or ignored.
“Users are leveraging AI to aggregate sensitive data, a business’s IP… this is something organisations need to think about. It is critical that organisations perform due diligence before adopting AI,” he added.
The opening keynote will cover topical issues linked to AI adoption, including shadow AI, data governance, AI systems as attack surfaces, and why governance is a competitive advantage rather than a constraint.