Volume 1 · Available now

ML & AI Literacy for GRC Professionals

Foundations and the Questions Behind the Numbers

A working understanding of machine learning, written for the people asked to govern it. Plain language, real cases, no math anxiety.
Volume 1

You're being asked to govern what nobody taught you.

For years the AI conversation belonged to the people who build the models. That era is ending. Regulators are moving, boards are asking hard questions, and the accountability is landing on your desk, not on the desks of the people who built it.

This book gives you a real understanding of the systems you are being asked to govern: what they are, how they fail, and where in the pipeline governance actually lives. Without asking you to become an engineer.

Every chapter ends the same way: what to ask, and what to keep on file.
What you will be able to do

Ten things you can do by the end.

01
Say what a machine-learning system actually is, plainly, and defend the sentence in a meeting.
02
Tell an algorithm from a model, and know which one a vendor is showing you.
03
Separate what a system was shown from what it was asked to predict, and question both.
04
Ask for a reason you can check, not just a decision you have to accept.
05
Trace a failure to the ring it happened in, and name who owns that ring.
06
Spot a category that has quietly been turned into a number, and say why it matters.
07
Place any accuracy figure on a three-tier ladder and know what it entitles anyone to claim.
08
Walk a required-data list and find the fields that only exist after the outcome is known.
09
Ask how many times a model has been scored against the test set now being quoted.
10
Leave each chapter with a named artifact: a data dictionary, a validation record, a model info sheet, an evaluation record.
Who this book is for

If you sit at the audit table, start here.

IT and internal auditors

Now auditing AI systems without a technical foundation.

Compliance officers

Facing regulatory language written for a technology they were never taught.

AI governance analysts

Building the frameworks their organizations will actually use.

Risk leaders

Reporting AI risk to a board without hand-waving.

Career changers

Moving from law, policy, healthcare, or audit into AI governance.

Organizational leaders

Who must answer for what their models do.

Table of contents

Eleven chapters.

Each one opens with a story, ends with questions you can ask tomorrow, and leaves you with something to keep on file.
  1. 01The AI Family
  2. 02The Rulebooks
  3. 03Algorithm vs Model
  4. 04Features and Labels
  5. 05Model Types and Their Risks
  6. 06The Sociotechnical View
  1. 07The Four Data Types
  2. 08Why Data Must Be Split
  3. 09Data Leakage
  4. 10Spending the Test Set
  5. 11Closing Chapter
See it before you buy it

Chapter 1, in all three formats.

Digital access includes a visual explainer and a companion podcast for every chapter, covering the same material as the text. These are the real ones from The AI Family.

Visual explainer · Chapter 1

Companion podcast · Chapter 1

Included with digital access, for all eleven chapters.
Choose your format

How you want to read it.

Format

Digital Reader

The full text in your browser, plus a visual explainer and a companion podcast for every chapter. Progress saved across devices. Read on the platform, not downloadable.
$150
per year · cancel anytime
Format

Hardcover Print

The book itself. Cloth-bound, foil-stamped, printed on cream stock. Ships worldwide in 10 to 14 business days.
$129
one-time
The chapter on splitting data changed how I read a vendor’s accuracy number. I asked a different question in my very next review.

Pricy Daniels

Senior IT Auditor · read the manuscript before release
FAQ

Questions, answered.

Do I need a technical background?

No. The book is written for GRC professionals rather than engineers. If you can read a policy document, you can read this book. Nothing requires you to write or run code.

Two. A digital reader you access in your browser, billed annually, which includes a visual explainer and companion podcast for every chapter. And a cloth-bound hardcover, shipped worldwide.

No. Digital access is read on the platform. Your progress, bookmarks, and highlights are saved to your account and follow you across devices.

It is a permanent reference, edited like a book rather than assembled from videos. It maps to audit and review decisions rather than certification exam questions.

Yes. Volume 1 is available now. Further volumes are in progress. Leave your email below and you will hear once, when the next one is ready.

Hardcover books can be returned within 14 days of delivery if unused and in original condition. Digital access is non-refundable once activated, because access begins immediately. You can cancel your plan at any time from your account, and your access runs to the end of the year you have paid for.

Yes. Contact us about organizational licensing and cohort reading programs.

Explore the series

The next volumes.

The series continues. Leave an email and you will hear once, when a volume is ready to read.

Know when the next volume lands.

One email per volume. No newsletter unless you ask for it.

Get your copy. Govern with clarity.