Stage 1 of 8 · 8 lessons · ~4 weeks
Why AI governance, and the rules
Why organisations need AI governance, and the rules and frameworks that shape it: the EU AI Act and its 2026 timeline changes, the NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001, the OECD principles, and the AI policies of Pakistan, India, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. You learn what each one is, how binding it is and where to read the source.
Start: What AI governance is, and why it is a job nowLessons· one lesson for each topic, in this order
- 1What AI governance is, and why it is a job nowLesson
- 2The EU AI Act: risk tiers and prohibited practicesLesson
- 3The EU AI Act timeline, including the 2026 delayLesson
- 4General-purpose AI models under the ActLesson
- 5NIST AI RMF and its Generative AI ProfileLesson
- 6ISO/IEC 42001 and the OECD AI PrinciplesLesson
- 7Pakistan, India, the UAE and Saudi ArabiaLesson
- 8What the rules mean for the people who buildLesson
Do this
- Read the European Commission's AI Act overview page and copy the timeline into your notes with today's date.
- Read Article 5 on the AI Act Service Desk and list the prohibited practices in your own words.
- Read the NIST AI RMF summary and write one line on each of Govern, Map, Measure and Manage.
- Read the OECD AI Principles and note where the same ideas appear in the AI Act.
- Find your own country's AI policy on an official site and note whether it is binding.
- Write a one-paragraph answer to "does the EU AI Act apply to a company in Lahore, Dhaka or Lagos?"
Start with· follow one of these
- CoursePaidGrokking Modern AI Fundamentals
Design Gurus · Beginner · $72 one-time
How modern AI systems are built and where they fail, so the rules make sense in practice
- CourseFreeEthics of AI (University of Helsinki)
University of Helsinki · Beginner
A free university course on accountability, transparency, fairness and harm, the ideas every framework builds on
Practise
Keep handy
Also worth your time
A clear example of the voluntary, principles-first approach many governments outside Europe have taken
- OECD AI PrinciplesGo deeper
The five principles that many national AI policies borrow
Before moving on: A two-page rules brief in your own words: the EU AI Act tiers and dated timeline including the 2026 delay, the four NIST AI RMF functions, what ISO/IEC 42001 certifies, the OECD principles, and the policy in your own country, every claim with an official source and the date you checked it.
Write every date down with the date you checked it. AI rules changed several times between 2024 and 2026, and the fastest way to lose trust in a governance meeting is to quote a deadline that moved months ago.