AI Foundations · Level 1 · Free

What is shadow AI and why is it a risk?

Shadow AI is staff using AI tools at work that nobody has officially approved. It is rarely malicious; people simply want to get their jobs done. The risk is that sensitive data, poor-quality output or compliance breaches go unnoticed, because the organisation cannot see or govern tools it does not know are being used.

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This is lesson 9 of the Foundations course in The Bowtie Academy, the free AI and revenue-automation school by The Sparked Group. The full lesson adds a plain-English walkthrough, a hands-on task on your own work, and a quick check, and it counts towards a verifiable certificate.

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More free lessons in Foundations

What is AI, in plain EnglishAI agent vs chatbot vs automation: what is actually newWhat is a large language modelWrite your first good promptWhy AI confidently makes things up (hallucinations)Why AI should never run unsupervised (human in the loop)The five AI tools most people already haveWhat never to paste into a public AI tool

Part of The Bowtie Academy by The Sparked Group.