AI governance playbook authors to speak at Las Vegas conference

The authors of The AI Governance Playbook will present at the AI Governance World Conference in Las Vegas Oct. 12-14, 2026, as the event spotlights frameworks for agentic AI, compliance and risk management. Organizers say the conference will bring together more than 50 speakers from major tech companies, law firms and government organizations.

Why it matters: - The conference is aimed at a fast-moving issue: how organizations govern AI, especially agentic AI that can take actions and trigger legal or financial consequences. - The playbook’s central message is that AI governance should build on established information governance practices instead of creating a separate framework from scratch. - The event will also focus on practical compliance with the EU AI Act and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework.

What happened: - The AI Governance World Conference will take place Oct. 12-14, 2026, at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. - The conference theme is “AI Governance at Work.” - Robert Smallwood and Christopher Surdak will present sessions based on The AI Governance Playbook: How to Secure, Control, and Optimize Artificial Intelligence Initiatives. - The conference will host more than 50 global speakers from organizations including OpenAI, Mars, Google, Cisco, DoorDash and the U.S. Space Force. - Speakers from law firms including Foley & Lardner, Clarion AI Partners, DLA Piper and Baker Hostetler are also scheduled to participate.

The details: - The book argues that core functions in the Information Governance Reference Model should own key responsibilities across the AI software lifecycle. - Smallwood is founder of InfoGov World Magazine and chair of the Certified Information Governance Officers Association. - Smallwood created the CIGO/AI and CIGO/AI-A curriculums and certifications. - Smallwood’s governance methods have been used by Fortune 500 companies and AmLaw100 law firms. - Smallwood has written eight books on information governance, including Information Governance: Concepts, Strategies, and Best Practices. - Surdak is CEO and founder of ReLeaf Financial, a startup offering AI trust software. - Surdak’s background spans engineering spacecraft, advising Fortune 500 companies, tech startups and government entities, and writing books on digital disruption, automation and robotics process automation. - The sessions will cover mitigating algorithmic bias, operationalizing AI governance at scale and aligning compliance with innovation. - Surdak has patented a method intended to ensure AI trust through a platform called Proof of Intent, tied to U.S. Patent 12,505,416. - Proof of Intent is designed to bind human intent to machine actions in autonomous transactions and digital workflows. - Surdak argues the next major legal battleground is Human Authorization, not just data privacy. - Surdak says the goal is to prevent companies from blaming “the AI” when automated errors or agentic fraud occur. - Smallwood said agentic AI can accelerate business or “ruin it,” and said organizations need clear accountability, ethical guardrails and secure sandbox testing.

Between the lines: - The conference is framing AI governance as an operational discipline, not just a policy exercise. - The emphasis on human authorization and liability suggests legal risk is becoming central to AI deployment strategy. - The use of information governance as the foundation reflects a broader industry push to adapt existing controls rather than invent new ones for every AI use case.

What's next: - The conference is expected to surface specific governance practices for enterprises trying to move from AI pilots to production. - Attendees will hear strategies for healthcare, financial services, cybersecurity and defense use cases. - The event will also offer training, networking receptions and executive forum sessions through its host organization, the Certified Information Governance Officers Association.

The bottom line: - The conference is positioning AI governance as a business-critical control layer for the next wave of AI deployment, especially as autonomous systems raise new compliance and liability risks. - More information is available through the Certified Information Governance Officers Association.