The future of data governance in the age of AI agents

Data mesh, agentic AI, the AI Act: we pile up programmes without knowing where to start. This talk restores order from a simple observation: an AI agent does not only consume your data, it consumes the meaning and the rules that come with it. And most stacks do not have that layer.

There are now four layers to govern: data, context, agents and trust. The talk shows why you should start with the semantic layer, using the example of active customers, which gives three different numbers depending on the system. And what that changes for existing roles: none disappears, each moves up a level. The data steward moves from documentation to executable definition. The governance team becomes data and AI governance: same discipline, wider scope.

Who decides, who is accountable, which skills to amplify, which functions appear, and why you should absolutely not hire at this stage: you leave with a clear reading of how your data governance teams should evolve over the next eighteen months.