Wipro CTO: AI governance needs four pillars balancing ethics and sustainability

The growing complexity of AI deployment raises ethical and sustainability concerns that require structured governance frameworks. Wipro’s CTO Kiran Minnasandram outlines a balanced approach to responsible AI that considers environmental impacts alongside ethical considerations, emphasizing that organizations must develop comprehensive strategies that extend beyond basic compliance to address diverse stakeholder values.

The big picture: Ethical AI requires a four-pillar framework that incorporates individual values, societal considerations, environmental sustainability, and technical robustness.

• Organizations must balance AI’s ability to optimize resources and reduce emissions against its significant energy and water consumption demands.
• Companies face challenges developing governance strategies that satisfy diverse stakeholder values while navigating an evolving regulatory landscape.

Key challenges: Organizations struggle with establishing ethical AI practices due to the lack of common vocabulary and cross-departmental coordination.

• Understanding organizational values and developing comprehensive risk taxonomies are foundational steps for effective AI governance.
• Companies must overcome siloed approaches where technical teams work independently from legal, compliance, and ethics specialists.

Environmental impacts: AI presents a sustainability paradox, simultaneously offering solutions to environmental problems while creating substantial resource demands.

• Positive applications include optimizing supply chains, improving resource management, and reducing carbon emissions across various sectors.
• The negative environmental footprint includes increased energy consumption, higher carbon emissions, and substantial water usage for data center cooling.

Governance recommendations: Effective AI ethics requires structured policies and frameworks with transparency built into every stage of development.

• Organizations should establish clear sustainability policies, conduct regular impact assessments, and track environmental metrics.
• Cross-industry collaboration and comprehensive workforce upskilling on responsible AI usage are essential for meaningful implementation.

Regulatory landscape: AI governance must account for both existing legal frameworks and emerging AI-specific regulations.

• Current privacy and consumer protection laws already apply to AI applications and data handling.
• New regulations like the EU AI Act and various state-level rules in the US are creating a complex compliance environment that requires proactive monitoring.