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Navigating disruption: the role of boards in an AI-driven future

Multidisciplinary professional services organization

10 minute read 20 Jan 2026

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Board governance and oversight

As organizations face unprecedented challenges, boards are uniquely positioned to help strengthen governance and build strategic agility.

In brief

Board members play a critical role guiding organizations through crises, especially as AI reshapes business models and decision-making.
As the AI-driven future accelerates, agility and proactive governance will be essential to pivoting effectively and turning disruption into competitive advantage.
As the regulatory landscape evolves, boards must prioritize transparency, ethical oversight and accountability to sustain trust and deliver long-term value.

In times of uncertainty and an era being shaped by AI, the ability to pivot quickly, govern responsibly and act with foresight will distinguish those who lead from those who lag.

In Canada, the regulatory horizon is coming into sharp focus. The federal government’s transparency-enhancing AI Register is defining how AI will be used in federal institutions. Other standards, like Bill C-8, Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act, which is focused on responsible design, and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions’ (OSFI) Guideline E-23 requiring federally regulated financial institutions to establish enterprise-wide model risk management for AI and machine learning, are set for implementation in 2027.

As organizations navigate an era defined by unprecedented challenges and the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, boards must act now to embed ethical oversight and transparency and shape AI governance for the future. Those who hesitate risk not only compliance but their very relevance in a landscape where innovation and integrity must coexist.

Tim Buss

Partner

Boards that act now to strengthen oversight will be better positioned to navigate compliance and avoid costly last-minute adjustments. EY’s recent Responsible AI Pulse Survey reinforces the urgency for action. Despite 77% of organizations actively working on AI governance, readiness still lags adoption. Boards must lead by embedding governance principles - accountability, fairness, data protection, reliability and security - into every stage of AI deployment.

As adoption accelerates, boards are under growing pressure to balance innovation with control. Embedding responsible practices early is no longer optional: it’s central to sustaining trust, mitigating risk and realizing the full value of AI investments.

The following insights stem from a recent EY Board Matters roundtable focused on the topic, where directors from across sectors discussed how boards can guide their organizations through disruption and prepare for an AI-enabled future.

Strategic agility: turning disruption into advantage

Disruption is now constant, yet strategy often struggles to keep pace. As markets, technologies and stakeholder expectations evolve faster than most planning cycles, boards need agility to connect foresight with execution. Staying attuned to early signals of change can help leaders turn potential threats into opportunities and disruptive forces into competitive advantage.

Leadership alone cannot correct strategic misalignment. Organizations that succeed are those whose strategic planning is embedded in operations. When decisions are synchronized, data informed and grounded by market and customer insights, boards can see both the big picture and operational detail. This integration enables them to adapt, act and outperform amid uncertainty.

Board members must focus not only on what could go wrong, but on what must go right to stay relevant. Stress-testing scenarios to manage risk, mitigate uncertainty and understand how strategies will play out in changing circumstances can also help a business prepare.

Testing for best- and worst-case scenarios can determine how best to pivot to ride the wave of change or identify which strategic adjustments need to be made. Being agile enough to dial up or down relevant levers to create clarity from chaos, and the foresight to determine which should be abandoned entirely, will be critical.

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Governance: staying a step ahead

When it first appeared on the scene decades ago, AI’s promise was infinite. Today, many are rethinking deployment, having seen the results of those who moved too quickly, or finding themselves struggling with their own return on investment.

While there is a temptation to wait and learn from others’ mistakes, doing so creates risk. The global AI market was slated to reach $2.5 trillion by 2024, and with 92% of companies planning to increase investment in AI technology over the next three years, waiting may mean being left behind.

The time to establish governance internally for the safe and ethical use of AI is now - before the regulatory wave hits and Canadian businesses find themselves scrambling to catch up.

Until then, and in the absence of regulation, board members can help govern AI with insight and integrity, engraining privacy and ethical use as non-negotiables. By being uniquely positioned to push organizations forward on compliance, boards can uphold transparency and accountability or risk stalling innovation and eroding stakeholder confidence.

Driven by governance and ethical decision-making, AI adoption can be the key to unlocking long-term value and sustainable ROI, allowing for innovation and integrity to thrive. But keeping in mind that compliance is an approach to how an organization acts, not simply an exercise, flexibility will be core as the regulatory environment heats up.

Challenging leadership on assumptions and asking critical questions are among some of the most important ways board members contribute value as unpredictability becomes not only the new normal, but the one constant business can rely on.

Here are six questions board members should consider asking to help keep leaders on track as the market evolves:

Summary

There’s no doubt that leading through uncertainty will be challenging. By focusing on the most critical insights across the AI lifecycle and asking key questions to help shift the trajectory on engrained thinking, boards can help anticipate the “what ifs” and embed rigour in governance, so businesses aren’t derailed by disruption.

The age of AI agents managing other AI agents is here. And yet the role of humans has never been more powerful. By challenging management on execution plans and prioritizing data governance, boards can create a culture of transparency and responsibility, bridging the gap between strategic intent and operational execution.

About this article

EY Canada

Multidisciplinary professional services organization

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.