The AIX Factor

Episode 38: It’s the System, Stupid: A Conversation with Cybersecurity Expert and AI Ethicist Patrick Sullivan

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Our conversation with Patrick Sullivan, VP of Strategy and Innovation at A-LIGN, a leading provider of cybersecurity and compliance solutions, was one of the more wide-ranging and provocative ones that we’ve had. Patrick brings over 25 years of experience in the IT security and compliance space, is a TEDx Speaker, a member of the Forbes Technology Council,  and is a self-described AI Ethicist. We discussed: 


  • “Systems thinking”:  how AI needs to be thought of in a broader social context in which everything is connected - change one thing and everything is affected, even if those things are not immediately visible. 
  • How organizations need to think about - and manage - change: how the four domains in organizational systems - people, process, technology, and the organization itself - need to interconnect;   the ADKAR model for implementing change, which involves creating awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement among employees.  
  • Carol Dweck's concept of fixed versus growth mindsets, with Patrick emphasizing the benefits of a growth mindset in business and personal development. 
  • Balancing compliance and innovation in the context of AI implementation. 
  • AIX is about raising your “AIQ,” which we define as knowing what questions to ask. Patrick discusses the one question he is not asked enough.
  • What it means to be an “AI ethicist” and the importance of ensuring that AI systems produce desired behaviors while maintaining individual agency in decision-making. 
  • ISO 56001, a structured framework for organizations to think about and consistently approach innovation (we need to have a pod exclusively on this). 
  • Patrick’s colorful - and apt! - NBA analogy in describing differences in how Europe views AI regulation and how we view it here in the US. 
  • Bag Check: Patrick shares his go-to AI tools, which may surprise you..
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