AI Doesn't Create Data Problems. It Amplifies Them with Lance Harlan

Most banks greenlighting AI use cases in 2025 think they're making a technology decision.

They're not. They're making a data accountability decision — and most of them aren't ready for it.

Lance Harlan is the Data Governance Program Manager at Trustmark Bank and the author of the KISS Data Success Guide series. His career didn't follow a straight line into governance — he went from auto mechanics to the Marine Corps, through defense contracting, IT infrastructure, and systems administration before landing in strategy and data governance. That non-linear path is precisely what makes his perspective valuable. Every insight he brings has been earned, tested in practice, and stress-tested against the organizational reality of a financial institution that's been operating for over 100 years.

In this episode of In Production, Nick and Lance go deep on what enterprise AI governance actually looks like inside a regulated institution — not the framework version, the real version.

What we cover:

The gap between paper-based governance and how people actually work on Thursday afternoon — and why most programs are built in a vacuum that doesn't survive contact with reality.

Why the KISS mindset (Keep It Stupidly Simple) isn't a framework — it's a filter. If your governance program isn't easy to understand, easy to explain, and easy to teach, it won't be adopted.

How Lance structured data contracts at Trustmark to keep authority with the people who already had it — and why that's the only way to avoid governance becoming an enforcement burden that nobody follows.

The hard truth about AI governance in banking: you can check every box in ISO 42001, satisfy NIST AI RMF, align with OCC guidance — and still have an AI system making decisions that no one in your organization can fully explain. Compliance is not effectiveness.

The 4 questions every bank leader must answer before greenlighting any AI use case — starting with: "Is the data driving this decision actually under governance yet?"

Why AI doesn't create data problems — it amplifies them. Inconsistent data quality, unclear ownership, and lack of governance don't disappear when you add AI. They scale.

What separates the banks that will win with AI in 5 years from those that won't. The answer isn't speed, budget, or vendor selection. It's whether the organization started with ownership and accountability before they touched the first model.

Why "accountability without understanding is just documentation" — and the difference between knowing who owns a decision and whether that person actually understands what they own.

The line from this episode worth sitting with:

"Just because you implemented AI to make decisions, you lose the right to say we didn't know."

Guest:

Lance Harlan — Data Governance Program Manager, Trustmark Bank. Author of the KISS Data Success Guide series on South Tech and Medium. Lance writes to work through governance challenges in real-world institutional environments, publishes only after testing what works, and connects with practitioners on LinkedIn.

📎 Connect with Lance on LinkedIn 📚
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lancewharlan/

Leading with AI Agents by Reddy Mallidi — Lance's current read and recommendation for this episode.

In Production is for CTOs, CIOs, CISOs, CDOs, and technology leaders who have moved past the theory. Every episode is a conversation with someone who has deployed AI in the real world — regulated industries, complex infrastructure, real stakes. No keynote speakers. No consultants with opinions. Practitioners only.