AI Feature Impact Audit
A structured assessment service for product teams that audits a planned AI feature for second-order effects on users, environment, labor, and trust — before launch.
Product managers and design leads shipping AI features in consumer apps
- One-page brief template covering intended use, likely misuse, and downstream effects
- Scorecard across 6 dimensions: user autonomy, environmental cost, labor impact, accessibility, data governance, and consent
- Benchmark examples from past AI feature launches with what was missed
- Optional 60-minute review session with an HCI-trained auditor
The essay's central argument — tools have politics and shape us by design — is increasingly being leveled at product teams; companies need a defensible pre-launch process.
AI governance spending is exploding (USD 270.5M → USD 11.8B by 2034, 45.9% CAGR per market.us) and pre-launch frameworks already exist in text (Allens AIIA guide, ISO/IEC 42005:2025), but adoption in mainstream product-team workflows — distinct from legal/regulatory compliance — is still nascent.Responsible AI Governance Consulting Market Size, CAGR of 45% ↗Allens AI impact assessment guide ↗
The space is partially occupied — Reloadium offers an AI-powered pre-launch risk assessment, T3 sells responsible AI audit services, Allens and law firms do AIIAs, and ISO 42005 codifies the practice — leaving limited room for a new entrant without a differentiated angle (e.g., consumer-app PM focus, second-order effects framing).AI-Powered Pre-Launch Risk Assessment - Reloadium ↗Expert Responsible AI Audit Services by T3 ↗
Strong enterprise willingness to pay is evidenced by a USD 11.8B addressable market and 45% CAGR, and consultancies like T3 and law firms already charge premium rates — translating to plausible $5K–$25K per audit fees, though product-team budgets (vs. legal/compliance budgets) are the constraint.Responsible AI Governance Consulting Market Size, CAGR of 45% ↗Expert Responsible AI Audit Services by T3 - t-3.ai ↗
Structural regulatory tailwinds (EU AI Act mandates fundamental-rights impact assessments for high-risk systems) plus ISO/IEC 42005:2025 standardization make this a multi-year, compliance-driven category — not a fad.Allens AI impact assessment guide ↗
Delivery is service-heavy (human-led audit), requiring credentialed expertise across ethics, policy, and product — not a pure software build; competition from law firms, Big 4, and templated SaaS (Reloadium) makes a defensible offering harder to ship fast.AI-Powered Pre-Launch Risk Assessment - Reloadium ↗