For mature organizations, compliance is the baseline; credibility is the goal. This article shows how AI governance—when visible and explainable—becomes a public trust signal comparable to ESG reporting.

This piece introduces the AI Alignment Canvas—a tool linking purpose, policy, people, and practice. It guides leaders to ask the single most revealing governance question: “Does this AI reflect who we are and what we stand for?”

AI literacy is no longer optional for directors—it’s part of fiduciary competence. Drawing from the Five Steps to Governance-Ready Confidence framework, this article maps the path from awareness to integration: visibility, principles, interpretation, engagement, and habit. It positions literacy as cultural leadership, not technical training, and includes the 90-day briefing cadence every board should adopt.