# AI Risk

What can go wrong when AI is used at work.

Track: AI Risk and Controls

## What is it?

AI risk is the chance that using AI creates harm, error, waste, unfairness, exposure, or loss of trust. The risk may come from bad output, wrong data, weak review, unclear ownership, careless users, or a vendor system the organization does not fully understand.

## Why it matters

AI risk matters because AI output often moves quickly into real work. A wrong summary can become a decision note. A guessed answer can reach a customer. Sensitive data can be pasted into a tool. Risk does not mean AI should be avoided. It means AI use needs boundaries.

## How it works

Look at the full path: input, model, output, user, decision, and impact. What data goes in? What does the AI produce? Who checks it? Who uses it? Who could be affected? Risk becomes clearer when you trace the work from start to finish.

## Analogy

Think of a power tool. It can make work faster, but it can also cause damage if used without training, guards, or the right task. AI is similar. The tool is useful, but the use context decides the risk.

## Example usage

A hiring team using AI to screen candidates faces different risk from a marketing team drafting social posts. A customer support chatbot creates different risk from an internal summarization tool. The use case decides the risk level.

## How to use this

Before approving an AI use case, ask what could go wrong, who could be affected, and what safeguard reduces the risk. Keep the answer practical. You do not need a giant risk model to start.

## Common mistake

The common mistake is treating all AI use as the same risk. Drafting a lunch menu and assisting a loan decision are not the same.

## Question to ask

- **Impact**: Who could be affected if this AI output is wrong?
- **Data**: What sensitive information enters the AI system?
- **Decision**: Does this output influence a decision about a person, customer, or business risk?
- **Control**: What check reduces the most serious risk?

## Quick quiz

What mostly determines AI risk at work?

## Flashcard

**Question:** What is AI risk?

**Answer:** AI risk is the chance that AI use creates harm, error, exposure, unfairness, waste, or loss of trust.