With generative AI adoption moving faster than the personal computer or the internet and global AI-related investment in 2025 representing $581.69 billion , organizations must position their workforce to use AI to power their operations while employing it responsibly. Researchers affiliated with the AI Adoption Initiative argue that the workforce relates to AI through an AI Labor Stack comprised of AI innovators, facilitators, and users, and that facilitators are often “the missing middle” in national AI strategies though they are responsible for “translat[ing] AI capability into practical deployment across firms, sectors, and public services.” (Ferrone et al., 2026).
What happened
Researchers affiliated with the AI Adoption Initiative argue that the workforce relates to AI through an AI Labor Stack comprised of AI innovators, facilitators, and users, and that facilitators are often “the missing middle” in national AI strategies though they are responsible for “translat[ing] AI capability into practical deployment across firms, sectors, and public services. ” (Ferrone et al. , 2026).
Where the sources line up
We support this facilitator population in instituting or improving systematic approaches to AI governance within their organization through review of the international standard ISO/IEC 42005:2025, exploring its guidance on how to efficiently integrate AI impact assessments into their broader governance ecosystem.
Practical impact for readers
Standards-based governance frameworks offer a practical path forward — and AWS has invested in making them actionable. At Amazon we have been proponents of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards development projects for AI risk management, both as certifications we have achieved for multiple AI services (Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Q Business, Amazon Transcribe, and Amazon Textract), and as something we advocate for our customers to use for certifying their own services.
Who should pay attention now
For organizations that prefer a standalone AI impact assessment, Annex E of ISO/IEC 42005 provides a ready-to-use template for self-contained implementation.
What is still unclear
ISO/IEC 42005 unlocks a more integrated AI governance process for customers. Specifically, the standard provides guidance on how to develop the content of AI system impact assessments, how to perform AI system impact assessments, when to integrate AI system impact assessments within the stages of the AI lifecycle, and how to document the AI system impact assessment process and its outcomes.
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