Using AI to draft a staff picnic invitation is very different from asking it to inform a resident care decision. For the first, a mistake looks like having the wrong date or location. The other potentially affects someone’s well-being and your organization’s regulatory compliance. So how we manage them must be different as well.
As you are setting up a new AI tool or use case, ask yourself: If something goes wrong, what happens? The greater the consequences, the higher the use case risk.
Start with Low Risk
Many organizations are starting with lower-risk AI use cases where a mistake costs time or clarity, and not trust or safety.
Lower risk use cases can look like:
- Drafting emails or internal communications
- Summarizing meeting notes
- Brainstorming activity or program ideas
- Creating first drafts of policies and procedures
These are good places for individuals and organizations to start to build AI comfort and confidence.
When the Stakes Rise, So Should the Guardrails
Higher-risk use cases necessitate more scrutiny and stronger safeguards.
Things like:
- Resident care and clinical recommendations
- Sensitive or protected information
- Employment decisions
- Legal, financial, and board matters
The 2026 CTO Hotline Report, released this month by LeadingAge CAST and Ziegler Link•age Funds, found that legal and regulatory issues are now the top AI concern among senior living technology leaders — cited by 41% of respondents, nearly three times the number who cited AI governance itself (14%). Evaluating low-risk and high-risk AI use cases and building policies and structures around them is a key part of what healthy AI governance looks like.
As you evaluate current and new AI tools, regularly ask: If this gets something wrong, what are the consequences? Thinking this through will point you toward the safeguards you and your organization need. It’s a simple but powerful step.
It allows you and your organization to continue to innovate with AI and sleep at night.
Until next time, stay curious, lead thoughtfully, and keep humans at the center of the work. Interested in exploring practical uses of AI? There’s still time to register for AI Co-Lab: Learn. See. Do.
By Chris Stump, Managing Associate | AQORD Consulting
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