In a world where artificial intelligence has become a daily tool, many organizations face a new silent enemy: Shadow AI. A phenomenon as common as it is dangerous, which occurs when employees—from interns to executives—use AI tools without authorization or supervision, compromising data, processes... and even the company's reputation.

What exactly is Shadow AI?

The term Shadow AI arises by analogy with the well-known Shadow IT, and refers to the use of artificial intelligence technologies outside the control of the IT or cybersecurity departments. This can include anything from prompts to ChatGPT to solve tasks, to the use of code generators, images, or predictive analytics... all without oversight or protocols.

According to the Insider AI Threat Report from CalypsoAI:

1. 52% of employees would use AI even if it violates their company's policy.
2. 35% of executives admit to having shared confidential information with AI systems.
3. 67% of leaders say they would use AI even if it breaks the rules.

Why is it so serious?

Because while companies obsess over the benefits of AI, they are ignoring the most real and immediate danger: that AI is already being used—and misused—without any type of control.

1. Databases, contracts, internal emails, or strategic details are being shared with models that do not guarantee confidentiality.
2. The line between efficiency and negligence blurs when leaders use AI agents without technical teams being able to audit those processes.
3. And worst of all: a blind trust in systems that no one fully understands is being created.

Can this be stopped?

More than stopping it, it must be regulated and integrated intelligently. What does not work is prohibiting AI, as this only drives employees to use it outside the system.

What does work is what CalypsoAI calls structured enabling:

1. Create controlled access to AI tools.
2. Implement traceability of results.
3. Take care of the handling of sensitive information with automatic writing systems.
4. Train employees according to their role.
5. Establish clear policies, with realistic and memorable examples.
6. Design an official catalog of authorized models and use cases.

This is not a technology problem. It is a leadership problem.

One of the most alarming findings of the report is that the uncontrolled use of AI does not only come from “rebellious” employees but from the leadership itself. Those who should lead by example are breaking protocols to “be more efficient,” without considering the security, compliance, or public image risks.

And here the lesson is clear: if leadership fails, the whole governance model collapses.

AI is not the problem. The problem is how we use it.

Artificial intelligence can increase productivity, reduce cognitive load, and free human talent for more strategic tasks. But without a clear policy, it becomes a digital time bomb.

What is urgent today is not to halt innovation but to create intelligent structures that contain it. Because if we do not know how AI is used within our organization, we no longer have control... and that, in today’s world, is the greatest risk.