AI doesn’t usually fail loudly. It drifts — quietly, gradually, and often invisibly.

In this episode of The Cyber Mettle Podcast, Alyson Laderman and Dr. Omar Sangurima are joined by cybersecurity and AI security leader Aby Rao to unpack the risks organizations overlook when they treat AI as a one-time implementation instead of a living system.

The conversation moves beyond hype to explore why AI requires continuous governance, how model drift undermines business goals, and why “responsible AI” often lacks clear ownership inside organizations. The panel also tackles shadow AI, data leakage risks, and what small and mid-sized businesses can realistically do without enterprise-level tooling.

The episode closes with a forward-looking discussion on where AI adoption is headed in 2026, including why GenAI will become table stakes, where agentic AI has limits, and why AGI remains the true wildcard.

This is a practical, leadership-focused discussion for executives, security professionals, legal teams, and anyone responsible for deploying AI in real organizations, not just talking about it.

00:00 – Introduction & Episode Focus Why AI maintenance, not novelty, is the real leadership challenge

01:00 – Aby Rao’s Background in Cybersecurity & AI From IAM and cloud security to AI risk and governance

02:10 – AI Doesn’t Break — It Drifts Why model drift is more dangerous than outright failure

04:00 – “Set It and Forget It” Is a Myth Why AI requires continuous operations, not one-time installs

05:00 – Measuring Success: Goals, KPIs, and Drift Indicators How organizations should track whether AI is still doing what it was designed to do

07:00 – Governance, Audits, and Independent Oversight Why AI ecosystems need external perspectives—not just builders

08:30 – Responsible AI: Everyone’s Job, No One’s Owner The accountability gap holding organizations back

10:30 – Ethics, Incentives, and the Missing Role of AI Ownership Why “responsible AI” struggles without clear leadership

12:00 – Regulation, Liability, and Why Case Law Will Matter How accountability will likely be enforced before legislation catches up

14:00 – Healthcare, Bioethics, and Where AI Ethics Already Exists Why some industries are ahead of others on ethical guardrails

15:30 – Frameworks vs. Reality Why NIST AI RMF helps—but isn’t enough on its own

16:00 – Start With Business Goals, Not Technology Why buying AI first and figuring out value later is risky

18:00 – AI Isn’t New—We’ve Been Automating for Years Reframing AI as evolution, not revolution

20:00 – Shadow AI and Data Leakage Risks How employees quietly introduce risk using unsanctioned tools

21:30 – AI DLP and Monitoring Without Policing How organizations can detect misuse without killing productivity

23:30 – Practical Advice for Small Businesses Affordable steps: training, secure browsers, and awareness

25:30 – AI in 2026: What Changes and What Doesn’t GenAI as table stakes, agentic AI’s ceiling, and AGI’s potential impact

28:30 – What Aby Is Watching Next Tracking AI maturity, leadership ownership, and real-world execution

29:30 – Closing & Where to Find More from Aby Rao