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Your one-stop briefing on AI and quantum risk. Written for board members, executives and senior leaders. Each issue covers the good, the bad and the ugly of AI, the latest news on quantum risk and regulation, and what it means for decision makers. You will also find books, white papers and the DIRECT framework, a method used in boardrooms to make critical decisions traceable, defensible and deliverable. These are created by Bridget Convey, founder of Aztec AI Group and Aztec AI Compliance, which provide ready-made AI governance products and services. She has 30 years experience implementing complex regulatory transformation across financial services, insurance and asset management, and now consults as an AI subject matter expert with Charterhouse Consultants.

1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good: Leading AI developers publish safety commitments at the Seoul summit
On 21 May 2024 the UK Government published the Frontier AI Safety Commitments agreed at the AI Seoul Summit 2024. Sixteen AI companies signed at the outset, including Amazon, Anthropic, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral AI, OpenAI and xAI, with others added later. [1]
Board lesson: Voluntary commitments are a starting point. Ask your suppliers: which of these commitments do you meet, and how could you show it to us?
The Bad: A tribunal holds a company responsible for what its chatbot said
On 14 February 2024 the British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal held that an airline negligently misrepresented its bereavement fare procedure through its website chatbot. The tribunal rejected the argument that the chatbot was a separate entity, describing it as part of the airline's website, and ordered the airline to pay $812.02 in damages, interest and fees. [2]
Board lesson: You are responsible for what your AI tells customers. Who checks what it says, and where does the customer go to complain?
The Ugly: A finance clerk paid out after a video call full of fakes
Reported in 2024: a finance employee at a multinational firm's Hong Kong office paid out about HK$200 million after a video conference in which every other participant was an AI-generated deepfake. The firm confirmed that fake voices and images were used, and said its financial stability and operations were unaffected and no internal systems were compromised. [3]
Board lesson: Would your payment process stop a request that arrives on a convincing video call? A second, independent check is the control.

2. AI Risk

  • Accountability for chatbots: the tribunal treated the chatbot as part of the company. Action: keep a record of what customer-facing AI is allowed to say, and test it. [2]
  • Deepfake fraud: voice and video can no longer prove who is on the call. Action: require independent confirmation for payments above a set value. [3]
  • Voluntary only: the Seoul commitments are voluntary. Action: ask suppliers for evidence, not assurances. [1]

3. Quantum Risk

  • In April 2024 a researcher posted a preprint claiming a quantum algorithm for lattice problems, the maths behind much post-quantum encryption. On 18 April 2024 the author recorded that a step contained a bug he could not fix, so the main claim no longer held. It was a preprint without peer review. [4]
  • Lesson: early claims about quantum threats and defences need checking before anyone changes a plan. No in-period NIST, NCSC, Europol or ENISA publication has been verified.

4. Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP)

  • No SRA publication has been verified for January to June 2024. The chatbot and deepfake stories above are reminders that firms are held responsible for the AI tools they put in front of clients and staff.

5. Regulations and Frameworks

  • EU AI Act: the European Parliament adopted the Act on 13 March 2024 by 523 votes to 46 with 49 abstentions, and the Council gave its final approval on 21 May 2024. [5][6]
  • Council of Europe: its first international treaty on AI, a Framework Convention on AI and human rights, democracy and the rule of law, was adopted in May 2024, with signature opening in Vilnius on 5 September 2024. The page is dated 17 May 2024. [7]
  • FCA: on 22 April 2024 the FCA published its AI Update, setting out how it will oversee AI in UK financial services. The Bank of England and the PRA published their response the same day. [8][9]
  • NIST: on 29 April 2024 NIST released the initial public draft of the Generative AI Profile (AI 600-1), a companion to the AI Risk Management Framework. It was later superseded by the final version. [10]

6. Latest News

  • The Council of Europe is a separate body from the EU, so its AI treaty sits alongside the EU AI Act rather than being part of it. Countries outside Europe can also sign it, which means one set of AI and human rights principles could apply across many more countries than the EU alone. [7]

7. Further Reading

  1. UK Government (2024) Frontier AI Safety Commitments, AI Seoul Summit 2024, 21 May. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/frontier-ai-safety-commitments-ai-seoul-summit-2024/frontier-ai-safety-commitments-ai-seoul-summit-2024 (accessed 29 October 2026).
  2. British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal (2024) Decision 2024 BCCRT 149, bereavement fare chatbot dispute, 14 February. https://decisions.civilresolutionbc.ca/crt/crtd/en/525448/1/document.do (accessed 29 October 2026).
  3. HCAMag (2024) Firm targeted by HK$200 million deepfake incident in Hong Kong revealed, 25 May. https://www.hcamag.com/asia/specialisation/employment-law/firm-targeted-by-hk200-million-deepfake-incident-in-hong-kong-revealed-reports/490683 (accessed 29 October 2026). Secondary source. Police and firm statements not read.
  4. Chen, Y. (2024) Quantum algorithms for lattice problems, IACR ePrint 2024/555, received 10 April, revised 19 April. https://eprint.iacr.org/2024/555 (accessed 29 October 2026). Preprint, not peer reviewed.
  5. European Parliament (2024) Artificial Intelligence Act: MEPs adopt landmark law, 13 March. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240308IPR19015/artificial-intelligence-act-meps-adopt-landmark-law (accessed 29 October 2026).
  6. Council of the European Union (2024) Timeline, artificial intelligence. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/artificial-intelligence-act/timeline-artificial-intelligence/ (accessed 29 October 2026).
  7. Council of Europe (2024) Council of Europe adopts first international treaty on artificial intelligence, 17 May. https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/council-of-europe-adopts-first-international-treaty-on-artificial-intelligence (accessed 29 October 2026).
  8. Financial Conduct Authority (2024) Artificial intelligence (AI) update, 22 April. https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/corporate-documents/artificial-intelligence-ai-update-further-governments-response-ai-white-paper (accessed 29 October 2026).
  9. Bank of England and Prudential Regulation Authority (2024) The Bank and the PRA's response to DSIT/HMT: update on our approach to AI, 22 April. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/prudential-regulation/letter/2024/artificial-intelligence-and-machine-learning-letter (accessed 29 October 2026).
  10. National Institute of Standards and Technology (2024) AI RMF: Generative AI Profile (NIST AI 600-1), initial public draft, 29 April. https://airc.nist.gov/docs/NIST.AI.600-1.GenAI-Profile.ipd.pdf (accessed 29 October 2026).

8. AI Compliance

AI rules are arriving fast, and boards are expected to show they have checked. Our ready-made document packs help you get your AI policies, risk records and evidence in place quickly, in plain English. They support your own legal and compliance advice; they do not replace it.

Free AI Scope CheckAI Compliance packsAztec AI AssessmentAztec AI Readiness

9. DIRECT Framework: Better Decisions, Better Outcomes

Boards rarely fail for lack of information. They fail because decisions are not traceable, defensible or deliverable. DIRECT is the six step method from my book The Board Decision Framework: Define the decision, Identify outcomes, Review options, Evaluate risk, Confirm accountability, Trigger points.

Get the bookRead Chapter 1 free

10. My books

Together, these three books form a single series for boards and executives. AI and quantum computing are advancing at an exponential pace, far faster than the risks most governance frameworks were built for, and their impact reaches every part of the business at once. The Board Decision Framework closes that gap. Its DIRECT method makes critical decisions traceable, defensible and deliverable, with decision evidence that stands up to executive scrutiny, audit review and regulatory challenge.

The Board Decision Framework

The DIRECT method: six steps that make critical decisions traceable, defensible and deliverable. Use it to govern AI, quantum and any major decision.

AI: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

The good, the bad and the ugly of AI, in plain English. What boards need to know about AI risk, the questions to ask, and how to stay in control.

Quantum Risk: The Elephant in the Boardroom

Why quantum computing is a board risk today, not tomorrow. How to use the DIRECT framework to mitigate it, what to ask, and when to act.

Visit my Amazon author page

My videos

Short videos on AI governance, risk and the EU AI Act. Click a video to watch it on YouTube.

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AI: Agree your strategy to maximise AI investment

AI: Are you sleep walking into risk?

AI: Are you sleep walking into risk?

AI: We have an AI Governance Problem

AI: We have an AI Governance Problem

Get AI wrong? It could cost 7% of revenue

Get AI wrong? It could cost 7% of revenue

AI is here: Thrive or Die?

AI is here: Thrive or Die?

AI vs Data: The Chicken and the Egg

AI vs Data: The Chicken and the Egg

The EU AI Act: Are you in scope?

The EU AI Act: Are you in scope?

The EU AI Act: Are you ready?

The EU AI Act: Are you ready?

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About Bridget

I'm Bridget Convey, founder of Aztec AI Group, which provides ready-made AI governance tools that turn AI risk into business confidence. For 30 years I have led complex regulatory transformation programmes across banking, insurance and asset management. Today I advise executives and boards on AI and quantum risk, and on making critical decisions traceable, defensible and deliverable. I am ISO/IEC 42001 certified and an alumna of the Oxford Saïd AI Strategy and Leadership Programme.

Aztec AI Group
Bridget Convey Bridget Convey Founder, Aztec AI Group

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