Glossary · the desk's terms
The terms an executive needs to read AI papers without a translator
An open glossary of 280 terms, written by the consultants who use them, audited by editorial.
How it reads
You can give a board member a single 12-page reference and remove most of the language friction that slows AI papers in committee.
Each term is dated. Where the meaning is contested in the literature, both readings are stated and the position the desk holds is named.
We update the glossary monthly. Subscribers receive the diff.
A
AI Act
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689; the European Union's risk-based legal framework for AI systems, in force from 1 August 2024.
Article 5
The article of the AI Act that lists eight prohibited AI practices.
Audit trail
The record of inputs, decisions and outputs that lets a regulator reconstruct what an AI system did and why.
B
Bias control
A control that reduces or evidences the absence of unjustified disparate outcomes between protected groups.
Board pack
The quarterly written paper a board reads to discharge its duty of care over AI risk.
C
Charter
The one-page agreement that scopes a programme: outcome, cost, timeline and the conditions under which the work stops.
Conformity assessment
The procedure that demonstrates a high-risk AI system meets the requirements of the AI Act before placing on the market.
D
DIFC Reg 10
The DIFC Data Protection Regulation 10; the first AI-specific personal-data rule in the GCC.
Drift
The gradual change in a model's behaviour over time as inputs depart from the training distribution.
I
ISO/IEC 42001
The international management-system standard for AI, published December 2023.
P
PRA SS1/23
Bank of England Prudential Regulation Authority Supervisory Statement 1/23 on model risk management for banks, in effect from 17 May 2024.
Principal
The named senior consultant who owns the engagement from first contact to closure. There is no junior substitution.