AI as Infrastructure
The article discusses the evolving perception of AI as critical infrastructure rather than just a tool, emphasizing the need for robust engineering and governance practices. As businesses increasingly build on AI systems, issues around compliance, business continuity, and security must be proactively addressed. Treating AI as infrastructure requires careful consideration of contracts, failure scenarios, and access controls to ensure reliability and safety.
- ▪AI is increasingly seen as foundational infrastructure supporting business functions, not just a supplementary tool.
- ▪Using AI in business requires careful attention to compliance, including data ownership and regulatory standards like GDPR and SOC II.
- ▪Business continuity planning must account for AI system failures, as downtime is inevitable and can disrupt critical operations.
- ▪Security risks arise when AI systems are granted the same access levels as human users, potentially enabling unauthorized or harmful actions.
- ▪Proper implementation of AI as infrastructure demands enterprise-level agreements, risk assessments, and engineering practices to ensure reliability and compliance.
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AI as Infrastructure Published by Cory Underwood on May 1, 2026 I recently attended the IAPP Global Privacy Summit and noticed something I have seen repeated in various podcasts. The conversation around Artificial Intelligence is changing. No longer are we asking if we should use AI, or having discussions on how to use AI, instead we’re talking about building on top of AI powered systems. In this context, AI and the related systems it runs on are infrastructure supporting other business functions. This shift in discussions is notable and means how we think about AI has to change. If AI truly is infrastructure, then I see a disconnect between how people approach using AI to support business processes, and actually treating it as infrastructure backed by sound engineering considerations.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Development & Analytics.
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