AI Governance Handbook

AI governance starts with a clear account of what a system does, who is responsible for it, and what evidence supports the decision to use it. This handbook helps you build that account across regulation, privacy, technical safety and organizational practice.

Free to read. No account required. This handbook is part of Techné AI’s public research. It is separate from the paid working-document libraries and does not require a purchase or a form submission.

Choose a starting point

• New to AI governance? Begin with the Introduction, then use the Glossary as a working reference.
• Responsible for legal or compliance review? Start with Legal & Regulatory Frameworks. Identify the jurisdiction, role and activity before applying a requirement.
• Building or buying an AI system? Read Privacy, Data & Security and Technical Safety.
• Preparing an executive or board discussion? Use Guidance by Role and the illustrative Maturity Planning Frameworks.
• Working with general-purpose or frontier models? Read Frontier Models alongside the relevant legal chapter.

What changed in September

This edition updates regulatory coverage and corrects overbroad claims in the May edition. It distinguishes the enacted EU AI Act amendment from the earlier political agreement, replaces the superseded Colorado framework, adds New York’s amended RAISE requirements, and clarifies federal, sectoral and international sources.

It also separates standards from certification guarantees, legal requirements from voluntary safety frameworks, and illustrative maturity stages from validated benchmarks. The web chapters and complete PDF are generated from the same reviewed content. See the edition history for the change record and limits.

From reading to a working record

Use the handbook to orient a review, then follow the material that fits the actual decision:

• Public briefings: deeper references on employment AI, board oversight, regulation and governance methods.
• AI Hiring Exposure Snapshot: a free starting point for an employment-AI discussion, not a compliance determination.
• TalentSight Intelligence: paid employment-AI working documents and library access.
• BoardSight Intelligence: board-oriented working documents, available by request.
• Contact Techné AI: discuss a defined advisory question or report an access problem.

Read the date as well as the rule

This is a dated educational reference, not an exhaustive register of every applicable law, a legal opinion, or a certification of any organization’s practices. Chapters identify sources and distinguish current provisions from proposals or historical examples. Check the underlying source for later changes, applicability and the full conditions before acting.

Found an error? Use the site’s corrections process. For the author’s background and publication scope, see About this publication.