Executive Summary
The AI Impact Assessment helps CUES evaluate whether a proposed AI use case is appropriate, controlled, and aligned with organizational goals before adoption. It is designed to force clarity around purpose, scope, users, risks, and success measures.
Template Sections
| Section | Questions to answer |
|---|---|
| Business purpose | What problem is being solved? Why use AI instead of a standard workflow or rule-based process? |
| Scope and users | Who will use the system? Which teams, audiences, or stakeholders are affected? |
| Data and inputs | What information is entered, referenced, generated, retained, or exported? |
| Outputs and decisions | What does the tool produce? Does it inform, recommend, summarize, draft, classify, or automate? |
| Human oversight | Where does a human review, approve, edit, or override results? |
| Risk considerations | Could the system create factual errors, biased outputs, privacy exposure, or process confusion? |
| Controls and safeguards | What approvals, access limits, logging, prompt guidance, and retention rules apply? |
| Measures of success | What adoption, quality, efficiency, or satisfaction metrics will determine success? |
Suggested Impact Ratings
Use low impact for drafting, summarization, and internal productivity aids with strong human review. Use medium or high impact when outputs influence member experience, employee evaluation, compliance posture, or any important decision-making workflow.
Approval Checklist
- Named business owner and technical owner
- Clear success measures and pilot boundaries
- Documented human-in-the-loop checkpoints
- Completed vendor, privacy, and security review as applicable
- Inventory record created or updated
FAQ
Can one AIA cover multiple workflows? Only when the workflows are materially similar. Otherwise, use separate assessments so controls stay precise.
Is an AIA the same as a DPIA? No. The AIA addresses overall AI-related impact and governance readiness. A DPIA focuses specifically on privacy and data protection risk.